To Light The Fire
by saltandburnit
Summary: The world believes that Pirate Kings shouldn't have children. They try all they can to make those kids believe it as well. However Luffy's kid and Ace might have different opinions on the matter. And when the former somehow ends up years into the past right on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, Ace's little nephew has a chance to show him a different way to look at things.
1. Chapter 1: Kid On Board

**Summary: **The world believes that Pirate Kings shouldn't have children. They try all they can to make those kids believe it as well. However Luffy's kid and Ace might have different opinions on the matter. And when the former somehow ends up years into the past right on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, Ace's little nephew has a chance to show him a different way to look at things.

A/N: Yeah, new story. Go figure. It's different from what I'm used to but please give it a shot. Also, about the name, there is a reason the boy is called that way. For anyone who doesn't know it already, it will be mentioned in the next few chapters.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Kid On Board**

"Hey! Hey, kid! Are you alright?"

_What happened? My head hurts…_

"Hey, come on! Wake up!"

_Who is yelling at me? Shut up…_

"Is he even alive? Who is he?"

"I don't know… Kid, are you ok?"

The young boy's eyes flickered opened and wandered around, still dazed. He shakily sat up, looking around in confusion. Where the hell was he? And why was a weird guy with a pompadour staring at him like that?

"Ah, he's awake. You ok?" He asked.

It suddenly dawned on the 14-year-old that he really didn't have a clue as to who this man in front of him was. A sudden panic gripped his heart and he instantly kicked with his feet on the ground to back away from him. His fingers brushed the piece of straw hanging from his shoulders, knowing in how much trouble he'd be if they recognized it. Thankfully for him, he had a large coat on, baggy enough to hide his hat adequately enough.

"Relax, it's ok. It's alright. We're not going to hurt you," the man said, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. "What's your name?"

Despite his odd appearance, his features were friendly and open and the kid felt comfortable trusting him. A smile adorned his young face as he replied. "I'm Edan."

"Nice to meet ya, Edan. I'm Thatch."

Thatch. The name sounded familiar in the boy's mind, but he couldn't quite remember where had had heard it before. Eventually he decided he didn't really care. "Great to meet you, Thatch." However he did care about something else. "Um, could you please tell me… where exactly are we?" he asked, feeling the wood on his fingers while the sound of crashing waves and seagulls calmed his senses. A ship.

A loud laugh echoed on the deck, startling the young boy.

"What was that?" Edan asked, looking around curiously. Random people wandered around chatting to each other. Not many were paying attention to him, though they received more than enough questioning glances.

"Oh, don't worry. That's just the captain."

"The captain?"

"Yep! Look around, kid," he said, voice filled with excitement and gestured around. "You're on the Moby Dick. Home of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Cold sweat ran down Edan's back, body perfectly still, eyes incredibly wide. Thatch. Now he remembered. He _had_ heard the name before. From stories he had been told either from his father's crew or Marco from the New Whitebeard Pirates. Wasn't Thatch the guy who got killed by the traitor, Blackbeard? So, wasn't he supposed to be dead? Then how was he here? How was that possible?

Edan resisted the urge to slap himself. _This could only happen to me. _

And then he realized. This could _only_ happen to him. If at all.

He froze and looked around with a new kind of curiosity. A toothy grin appeared on his face as he took in his surroundings. "Really? _Cool._" The Whitebeard Pirates, the way they were when Edward Newgate was still alive. All those people, all those stories. He could finally get to meet them. It was so awesome, he almost didn't care how he got there. (Though he would have to figure that one out eventually).

"Yo, Thatch! Did you find out who the kid is?!" A voice came from behind the brown-haired man. Edan looked up with interest at the newcomer. Long black hair and a set of freckles adorning his cheeks. He had the air of a troublemaker, but his black eyes seemed friendly enough.

"Yeah. This is Edan."

The raven-haired man must have said something to him, yet the boy wasn't paying any attention. His bright blue eyes were glued to the tattoo on his left arm.

Eyes wide with shock and disbelief locked with the man's black ones and a stuttered whisper left the younger's mouth.

"A-_Ace?"_

* * *

A/N: That's it for now. It's short but then again all my prologues are. So what do you think? Leave a review to tell me whether I should keep it or ditch it. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU. *dun dun*


	2. Chapter 2: Fire

**Summary: **The world believes that Pirate Kings shouldn't have children. They try all they can to make those kids believe it as well. However Luffy's kid and Ace might have different opinions on the matter. And when the former somehow ends up years into the past right on the Whitebeard Pirates' ship, Ace's little nephew has a chance to show him a different way to look at things.

A/N: And after popular demand, here is chapter two! Not much happens here and I apologize for that, but it's 2 am in the morning and I wanted to post _something_!

Let me just clarify, because Deadly in Pink pointed it out, Edan's blue eyes don't mean anything. Artistic license. I wanted them blue. His name however is revealed in the beginning of the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Fire**

_The seven-year-old ran over to the blond, for once not enticed by the scent of food but by sheer curiosity. Blue eyes, incredibly wide turned to the man full of interest. "Hey, Sanji…" he called, voice still slightly high-pitched at his age. _

_ Sanji resisted a smile at the sound. "What is it, kid?"_

_"Why do people look at me differently when I explain my name? Like they understand something I don't?" _

_ Whatever Sanji was expecting to hear, it wasn't that. Of course, _he_ knew why the boy was named that way, but no one actually realized that the kid himself wouldn't know._

_ Well, that just wasn't right._

_"Because you're named after a very important person most of the people you meet have heard of."_

_ His interest sparked at that and if possible his eyes widened even more. "Really? Who?"_

_"Ace."_

_ A frown appeared on the child's face as he tilted his head in confusion. "How does that work? How can I be named after Ace if my name is not that?"_

_"His alias was Fire First Ace," Sanji explained._

_ A grin spread across the boy's face at the new information. "And Edan means 'fire'?"_

_"Exactly."_

_"So… who exactly was he?" he asked, thinking over the possibilities in his mind. He had never imagined he was named after someone. Who could be so important to have his name given to him?_

_ A deep sigh escaped Sanji's lips, surprising the young boy. "Your uncle."_

* * *

"A-_Ace_?"

The raven-haired man looked at the newcomer with interest, surprised at the shocked tone with which he had said his name. Studying the boy closer, it was clear from the slight tremble of his body, his gaping mouth and the way his eyes had grown almost comically large that he was more than just stunned by his presence.

"Have we met?" he asked suspiciously. What the hell was wrong with the kid?

Edan for his part just realized how he may have overreacted and got himself into a butt load of trouble. Now what? He wasn't as much of a hopeless liar as his father was, but he didn't grasp the concept of a poker face either.

"I-I… I have j-just… heard of you… you know?" Or the need to stop himself from stuttering. "I… d-didn't…" He coughed, trying to regain his composure. "I didn't…" _Deep breath, you can do this. _"Ididn'texpecttoseeyouhere-soIwassortofsurprised- I'm… likeahugefanofyours- greattomeetyou,I'mEdan!"

Well, that was one way of doing it.

_At least I didn't stutter._

_I'm _such_ an idiot._

Ace and Thatch were looking at him like he had lost his mind. He couldn't really blame them either. Thankfully for him, Thatch found it more amusing than weird and broke the awkward silence. "Look, Ace! You've got yourself a fan boy!"

"Are you ok?" Ace insisted, eyes narrowed.

Edan gave a shaky grin. "Yeah, just fine. A little nervous maybe."

"A _little_?"

He chuckled lightly in a feeble attempt to change the mood. "Give me a break, I just woke up."

"Speaking of…" Thatch asked, looking at him with interest. "What on earth happened to you, anyway?"

"I'm not sure…" Edan replied as honestly as he could. He had a vague idea, though he sincerely hoped he was wrong. As if things weren't bad enough at his timeline. How far back was he anyway?

Ace's eyes narrowed. "How can you not know?"

"I don't-"

He was interrupted by a rude sound of loud growling, coming directly from his stomach. A sheepish grin appeared on his face. "Whoops."

Ace seemed quite amused by the turn of this conversation. Edan wondered if he was reminded of someone else at that moment. After all Sanji _had_ told him that his dad had been a bottomless pit who was always hungry. Unfortunately, that was one of the things he had inherited. Thank you, genetics. Thatch instead told him to wait and ran off to the kitchen, hoping to find something for the boy to eat.

"Nice guy," Edan said awkwardly to break the silence that had settled between him and Ace.

"Yeah, he is," the other agreed, sparing him a brief glance before looking away again. Not a second later though, he turned back to him curiously. "Aren't you hot in that coat? It's a hundred degrees…"

Edan felt the urge to slap himself. He had somehow convinced himself to ignore the heat, the sweat on the small of his back and neck, making his clothes cling to him. He even ignored the dizziness that came with being so hot from his way too many layers of clothing, but Ace had just gone and reminded him and now he couldn't ignore it anymore.

Of course he was hot! He was _dying_ from the heat! But he couldn't take his damn coat off because then Ace would see the straw hat hanging from his neck. And that was something that he could never find the words to explain. Not in this time.

"Nah, I'm ok."

"Suit yourself," Ace shrugged.

He wasn't sure why Ace was still keeping him company. Probably had nothing better to do at the moment. But Edan saw it as a perfect opportunity. He had to get to know this person. Clearly he had been very important to his father. And to be fair, he was more than a little curious. He had been compared with him more than enough in his life…

* * *

_ "Hey, Zoro…?" a ten-year-old called softly at the figure dozing off under the shade of a tree next to him._

_"Hmm?"_

_"Did Gol D Roger have a son?" He asked, absentmindedly picking at the grass._

_ The swordsman sighed once he realized the kid wasn't going to let him sleep. "He did. Why do you ask?"_

_"Just wondering," he shrugged. "He was also a Pirate King. I was wondering if there was another child like me."_

_ Zoro frowned. Young Edan's mood had been getting worse and worse with recent events. He hoped the boy wasn't letting the world get to him. This had the potential to get really bad. "His name was Ace," he calmly stated, not waiting for the question he was certain would come._

_ Edan's head snapped up at that, surprised yet intrigued. "Fire First Ace? Dad's brother?"_

_"Who told you about that?" The green-haired man narrowed his eyes at him._

_"Sanji."_

_"Stupid cook."_

* * *

Edan looked over at Ace with a small smile on his face. "Hey, Ace?"

He didn't get very far, though. Mere seconds later, Ace's body went limp and fell forward, face hitting the floor with a thump. Edan jumped up in surprise, eyes darting around with panic.

_Come on, I know Ace is dead but I seriously doubt it happened _this_ way! What is going on?_

"Ace? Ace!" he yelled.

"I wouldn't worry too much, yoi." A shockingly familiar voice told him apathetically. "That idiot does that sometimes."

"M-" He bit his tongue to stop himself. One awkward name slip was bad enough for a day. "He does? Why?"

Marco came to stand next to him, studying the figure on the floor with just a tiny hint of interest. "He's narcoleptic, yoi."

"So what? He just falls asleep in the middle of…"

"… everything. Yes."

"Weird," Edan said but a small smile graced his face.

_Oh, he's definitely my family_.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think? Please leave a review! This story is still in testing period!  
Also, for those who haven't noticed Finding Your Way Home's chapter 7 is up!  
Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Meet The Captain

A/N: I'm very touched by your responses to this story. You guys are awesome! Big thanks to those few who don't really read OC stories but are still willing to give this a chance! Here, you all get a cookie!

Some characters might be a little OOC, mostly because I'm not familiar with the Whitebeard Pirates (and I'll probably need to watch the entire war of Marineford to get this story straight in the future...) Also, does anyone have any idea how the sleeping quarters are arranged? Are all divisions in the same ship? Each division on its own? I've taken a few liberties but if you know, please say so and I'll fix it. Thanks :)

On with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Meet The Captain**

Once Thatch came back with a snack for him, the quiet Edan had gotten comfortable with was broken. One by one, the Whitebeard Pirates decided he had had enough peace and it was time for them to study him like some short of exhibit. At first he tried to be cool about it, smiling and greeting everyone, saying his name about twenty times, before finally feeling extremely uncomfortable with people staring at him while stuffing his face with a sandwich.

On top of that, Ace had woken up as soon as the food arrived and had been eyeing it for a while. How the guy could be awaken by the faint scent of a sandwich was beyond him. Then again, he wasn't much better when it came to food.

"Marco?" Edan whispered to the older man sitting right next to him. "Why are they looking at me like that?"

"They're curious, yoi. It's not every day we pick a random kid lying unconscious on an uninhabited island."

The boy frowned. "That's what happened? And why are they coming here _now_? They were fine five minutes ago."

"They were watching you before," Thatch replied instead, eyeing Ace with an amused smile as he was still stealing glances at the kid's sandwich. "But they got bored. You've been unconscious for hours."

"Why was I sprawled out on the deck, then? Not to be rude, but don't you have an infirmary or something?" he asked and switched the sandwich from his right hand to his left, away from the raven-haired man.

At the mention of the infirmary the two division commanders turned to Ace with a challenging look. He in return smiled sheepishly at them before answering their guest. "Let's just say that particular part of the ship is not usable at the moment."

Edan was about to ask when he saw the other two shaking their head in amusement. "Do I want to know?" Another shake of the head. Ok then.

By this point, Ace had finally had enough with that damn snack and made a move to grab it. Unfortunately for him, Edan knew both how to steal and protect his food and managed to escape. "Come _on_," Ace complained. "Give me a bite."

"No."

"What? _Why?_"

The kid shrugged, a little smirk on his face. "Because you ruined the infirmary," he explained, causing Marco and Thatch to snicker. "Plus I don't share food."

"Ungrateful brat," Ace mumbled, but there was a hint of a smile in his voice.

A calm mood settled between them only to be followed by a booming voice calling them forth. "_Ace! Marco! Bring the kid here!_" The aforementioned crewmembers got up immediately to obey, but Edan was frozen. The voice was full of so much power and confidence, it almost scared him. Who was that?

"Edan, come on, yoi. Let's go."

Blue eyes turned to him with unease. "Who is that?"

"The captain. Get up."

"Edward Newgate? _Whitebeard_?" he all but yelled, a sudden excitement bubbling up inside of him. Marco gave him an amused look at the change of attitude but nodded anyway.

Edan clumsily stood up and followed the two other men to the very front of the deck where an absolutely gigantic man was sitting, drinking sake and laughing heartily. The aura the man elicited was intimidating to say the least, but as his eyes fell on the boy, there was kindness hiding in them. Said boy was studying him not with suspicion but with interest, blending the image of this man with the one he created from the magnificent stories he was told. The best of the best, the King of the Sea, the Father to many crews. Those stories mixed kindness and power exactly like his image did.

"What's your name, kid?" The same voice asked, only now the teen's intimidation had switched to respect.

"Edan, sir."

Yellow eyes narrowed for a second at the lack of a surname in the introduction. However he could see that while the boy was indeed hiding something, it wasn't out of malice. Looking at those bright blue eyes closely, he could see admiration hiding in them, curiosity. But also a deep rooted pain that was surprisingly combined with a strange joy. Something was wrong with that kid, at the very roots of his soul, yet he couldn't quite figure out why.

"Edan, eh? Do you know what happened to you?" He let it go for now. There were in the middle of the ocean, he wasn't going anywhere yet. There was time to figure it out.

Edan scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "No, sir. I don't quite remember. I'm sorry."

"Oi, Oyaji. He could stay with us for a little while, couldn't he?" Thatch offered, a smile on his face. "Unless you have anywhere else to go…" he added as an afterthought.

Whitebeard turned to the kid with a questioning look. Edan was taken aback with a question and embarrassingly stuttered a reply. "N-no. Not… really."

"No family? Friends?" A dark skinned man stepped forward, looking at him curiously. _Jozu_, his mind supplied and fought to keep his eyes from widening. He was one of the few Whitebeard members that were still active in his time.

"No, sorry." _Well, not in this time anyway. _ But he couldn't exactly tell them that. Not until he himself figured out what had happened.

Ace smirked at the boy playfully. "Do you _want_ to stay here?" His nephew nodded with a laugh and really that was all the affirmation this crew needed.

"It's settled then!" Thatch smiled. "You'll stay with us for now." His expression unexpectedly turned into a frown, , confusing the younger. "We don't have any room in the fourth division quarters, though. Marco?"

The phoenix shook his head. "No. Sorry, kid. Ok, who has room, yoi?"

Just when Edan was starting to think they'd throw him off the ship merely because they didn't have any room for him, a new voice replied from behind him, startling him despite its jolly tone.

"We have room in second division! Don't we, Ace?"

"I think so," confirmed Ace and soon it was decided that their guest would be staying with the second division.

Edan's heart beat with excitement and nervousness at the prospect of staying with Ace and he looked around to find the source of the voice. He found him next to Ace, going on about something merrily. He studied them with narrowed eyes. There was something about the curly, raven-haired man that didn't sit well.

Thatch's exclamation a second later made his heart stop in realization.

"Oi, Teach! You saved the day!"

_Marshall D. Teach._

_Blackbeard._

_ The traitor who killed his own captain._

"No… way…"

* * *

A/N: I keep repeating myself but please leave a review! Also, for those who didn't notice, Finding Your Way Home has been updated! Check it out if you haven't! Thank you :)


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome Aboard!

**A/N: **I promised myself I wouldn't update for a while, until I was further along in the story. But somehow I found myself demotivated when I went to write the next chapter, so I thought I might as well post this. Maybe the knowledge that I have some of it done was making me lazy. Anyway, hope you like it.  
By the way, there are going to be lots of little flashbacks like this and the ones on chapter 2, because a) they show where Edan learns all that stuff about the past and b) they're _so much fun_ to write!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Welcome Aboard**

_"Wow! Whitebeard sounds so cool!" The eight-year-old exclaimed, eyes sparkling with excitement as the man finished his story. Young Edan loved hearing pirate stories, whether they were about his father or somebody else. Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks were some of his favorites. And when an old crewmate happened to run into him, he always asked them for stories. In return, they enjoyed passing stories about their captains to the youngest generation. Stories the way they really happened, not the crap the Marines spread out. "Whitebeard was Ace's captain, wasn't he?"_

_ He laughed, an amused smile on his face. "What do you know about Ace, yoi?"_

_"I'm named after him," the kid said with such pride, it made him wish Ace was here to see it._

_"Oh, I see. Well, in any case, he was. Though Ace did try to kill him the first few months he was on board the Moby Dick, but that's another story for another time."_

_ Edan's laugh was bright and loud and sincere and he wondered bitterly how long a child of his lineage could keep his innocence. Not long, if his former comrade was any clue._

_ Suddenly, the boy frowned, thinking hard about something that was bothering him. "Hey, Marco…" he said eventually, voice a little hesitant._

_"What is it, yoi?"_

_"If Whitebeard was so strong, how did he die?"_

_ Something darkened in the phoenix's eyes and Edan realized that maybe he shouldn't have asked a question as painful as that. The normally stoic man clenched his fist in anger and when he looked back up to the boy, his expression was cold and unforgiving. It wasn't directed at him, but it scared the boy to the core anyhow._

_"He was killed in the war. By a former crewmate."_

_ That day Edan got a whole different view on pirates and dreams and just how far people were willing to go to achieve their goals…_

* * *

He was right there, right in front of him. The person who caused Marco and the Whitebeard Pirates so much pain. The person who killed his crewmate, his captain and betrayed Ace. No one had ever told Edan the entire story of Ace's death, but he knew the important parts. Including this.

And now he had the guts to talk to Ace and Thatch as if they were old buddies. Then again, they probably were. That traitorous bastard hadn't made a move yet. Edan's blood boiled at the scene. How _dare_ he?

A hand was suddenly on his shoulder, startling him. Instinctively, he slapped it away, backing off warily with a glare on his face. It softened once he saw who it was. "Oh… Sorry, I…" he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to explain what he was doing.

The blond raised his hands in a peaceful manner. "Relax, it's just me, yoi. Are you ok?" Marco was not yet suspicious of him, but he was looking at him curiously. Edan understood that he had to be careful. Having just earned their trust, he couldn't act weird. Even if he wanted to bash that bastard's brains in. It would have to wait.

"Yeah, sorry, Marco. I guess… I'm a little uneasy." Well, that wasn't a lie. In the course of fourteen years the boy had learned that when lying he had to stick as close to the truth as possible. Otherwise he just sucked at it.

Marco looked like he wanted to say more but his new roommates decided to join their conversation. Blackbeard put an arm around his shoulders once Ace did the introduction and Edan froze, finding it harder and harder to keep himself from punching him. Especially when the phoenix said something he had neglected to mention back in his time.

"Teach here has been in this crew as long as I have. He's one of the oldest crewmembers."

The grinning, curly-haired man turned to him, confused. "Wow, kid! You're very tense! What's the problem? Edan, was it?"

"Right," the boy confirmed through gritted teeth. "Edan."

Blackbeard laughed, sparking his anger. "What? No last name?" Ace frowned next to him, obviously not having considered it before.

_Monkey D. Edan. _He wanted to say it; he wanted to say it with as much pride as it deserved, despite what the world told him about it. Teach should hear the name and _remember_ it, because one day he _would_ get his ass kicked by a person with that very name, even if it wasn't him.

However he needed Ace to trust him first and his family was more important to him than that coward. So he would shut up for now and keep calm. Obviously, getting kicked out of the ship would do nothing for him.

"No last name," he said, a mischievous look in his eyes that dared him to continue this conversation. Teach just laughed and thankfully let it go for now. Even so, Edan was sure he saw Ace eyeing him warily. Fantastic.

After the most awkward introduction in history, they took him to the second division quarters to see where he would be sleeping for the time being. As it turned out, of the many bunk beds in the room, the only unoccupied one was the bottom bunk of Ace's bed. When asked how that happened, they laughed and said nobody wanted to sleep with Ace. To be honest, Edan was both curious and afraid to find out what that meant.

"Make yourself comfortable," Ace said, gesturing to the bed, before climbing up to grab something from his own.

Edan saw that as his one and only chance and quickly took off the straw hat from his neck and hid it under the bed, making sure the blanket fell off on the sides enough for it not to be visible. He placed his coat a little on the side as well, just to be safe. A breath of relief left his mouth once the unbelievably hot coat got off of him. _Oh, that's the stuff_.

When the boy looked up to Ace's bed again, he found him asleep again. A grin showed on his face at the sight.

Thatch walked in then, chuckling a little.

"Does this happen often?" Edan asked, enjoying the hilarity of the man's condition.

"Nah, we had a late night last night and his narcolepsy gets worse when he's tired. He should be better tomorrow," he explained and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go. Dinner's ready."

They were halfway out the door, when the boy remembered something. "Shouldn't we wake him up?"

"Oh, no way. Grab as much food as you can before he wakes up. He's a black hole unlike anything you've ever seen."

A smirk unlike anything the kid had shown before, spread across his face, full of excitement and mischief. With his blue eyes gleaming in anticipation, he spoke with the most challenging voice he could muster. "That's only because you haven't seen _me_ eat."

Thatch let out a little laugh, which to be fair, sounded a little fearful.

Just what had he brought upon his ship?

* * *

Ten minutes later, Ace had woken up and burst into the dining hall, demanding food. He took a seat exactly opposite of Edan and the unlikely pair somehow turned a peaceful dinner into the greatest contest ever to be seen. Never mind the fact that the kid had been there half a day and was eating all of their food; it was too amusing.

The two each had a pile of food in front of them and were eating their way through it, while stealing from the other's pile as well. All the while, a staring contest was going on as well between the two, that combined with the entire situation caused the rest of the crew to have a laughing fit.

In the end, they ended up sprawled out on the deck, having been kicked out by the cook, with their stomachs bulging comically, but both grinning widely. Marco and Thatch soon joined them, sitting cross-legged next to them. "So, who won, yoi?"

Ace turned to Edan expectantly for an answer. In return, the boy smiled, obviously content with how the evening turned out, despite the outcome of the contest. "Ace did. _This time_."

"You're planning on doing this _again_?" Thatch laughed, looking at the kid with a smile.

"Please," Ace snorted. "You'll never beat me. You're pretty good, kid, but I doubt you'd even beat my brother." At the mention of his brother, a wide, nostalgic smile appeared on Ace's face as Edan froze at the sudden information.

Wide eyes turned to the man with clear surprise and interest. Hopefully, Ace would think he was just surprised to hear he had a sibling. "Your… your _brother_?"

"Oh, _no_," Thatch interrupted dramatically, startling the boy. "Don _not_ get him started!"

"What do you mean?"

Marco rolled his eyes. "Once Ace starts talking about his brother, he _never_ shuts up."

Now with double the eagerness, Edan sat up quickly and faced the raven-haired man. "Do tell." _Tell me everything_.

Thatch didn't share his excitement. "No, no, Edan! Why would you ask that?" He frowned however once he noticed the shaky smile on his face. What brought about the attitude change?

"What?" Edan tried to defend himself. "I'm curious. Tell me, Ace." _Please_.

Ace seemed truly surprised that someone actually _asked_ him to talk about his little bro, but was more than willing to comply. "His name's Luffy…"

And just like that, Edan spent the next few hours hanging off Ace's every word, listening to stories about a child different from the adult he had heard of, but just as amazing nonetheless.

* * *

A/N: Aw. Fluff ftw! Next chapter is going to have a little drama, so I figured I should make them have some fun in this one! Please leave a review! Till next time!


	5. Chapter 5: More Than Anyone Else

A/N: I need to stop updating this story. Well not for good, just not so often. There are other stories to be updated! I'm just so comfortable with this one, since I know most of what's going to happen. Sorry. Anyway, hope it's worth it.

* * *

**Chapter 5: More Than Anyone Else**

A few hours after midnight, Edan found himself outside on the deck, staring at the vast ocean in front of him. It was full moon that night, so a path of pale white light was visible on the surface, mysterious and enticing. The sea was fairly still so the waves were barely audible even in the quiet that had settled after everyone had gone off to sleep.

There was somebody up on the crow's nest for sure, but whoever it was didn't seem to mind him being there and so the boy was thankfully left alone. He needed this peace, if only for a short while. It had been quite the crazy day. Sure, he had adored listening to the stories of those pirates as a child, hearing the fondness in those spoken words by the people who had lived with them, who had truly loved them. But he had certainly never expected to really meet them. And Ace of all people? _Ace_? The Pirate King's son. Like him. Edan understood the man. Possibly more than anybody else. Yet it would be too complicated to go ahead and tell him that.

Then again he was never one for logic.

Now, Edan did believe in destiny. After everything he had heard, how could he not? But even if he didn't, what happened next would have changed his opinion immediately.

"Couldn't sleep?" A familiar voice called softly as a raven-haired man came out from below deck.

The boy, now that he had considerably calmed down from the day's events, allowed himself to relax in the presence of the fire user. A bright, sincere smile spread on his face for the first time since waking up, before turning around to face the sea again. Thus he missed the momentary confusion in Ace's eyes.

"Not really, no," he admitted. A more playful smile appeared then and combined with an accusatory glare was directed to Ace. "It's hard to sleep when the top bunk keeps moving all the time. Usually if the top bunk moves, the bottom one tends to do so as well."

Ace gave him a sheepish grin and took a seat on the railing next to him. "Sorry about that."

"You should accept the division commander's job," he suggested, going back to a conversation they had earlier about why Second Division didn't currently have a commander. "You'll have your own room and make everyone's life much easier."

"You mean yours?" The older man quirked a brow at him.

"Not specifically, but yeah, myself included."

"You're an ungrateful little brat, aren't you?" Ace said, without any real malice behind it. If anything, he sounded quite fond of the kid.

Edan sighed instead and following his lead, took a seat on the railing, looking over at the other seriously. "I don't get it, Ace. Why wouldn't you accept the position? You deserve it more than anybody else."

"How would you know that?" A hint of amusement was clear in his tone, yet there was also a trace of sadness. The words he spoke next, as if tired, only served to prove that. "It's complicated, kid. Stay out of it."

Impulsion is a bitch. Edan was rarely a blabbermouth, but when it happened, it was usually disastrous. And this time was no different.

"Is it because of your lineage?"

Half a second was all it took for the boy to realize his mistake, a hand claping over his mouth, eyes widening in horror. Ace would kill him. Right then and there. He was sure of it.

"_What _did you say?" Ace asked threateningly, a tone so low it sent shivers down his spine. His black eyes were burning with shock and anger and his mouth was set in a tight line. Oh, he was so _so _screwed.

Figuring there was absolutely no way around this, damage already done and all that, he mentally shrugged and decided to go all out. "I-I just meant that…Look, you… shouldn't let something as stupid as… as lineage… tell you what you can or can't do. Doesn't matter how bad it is."

"What would you know about that?" Ace all but growled jumping from the railing to glare at him with more fire than his logia power's could produce.

Since the kid really didn't want to be pushed off the railing and into the freezing water below him, he once again followed his example and landed on the deck where it was considerably safer, even if not much. "I've been chased around because of my family for years, Ace. I understand what you're going through, I do, probably more than anyone else. You can't let that rule your life. You shouldn't."

"You have _no_ idea. You _can't_ understand. _Never_ bring this up again."

"Why can't I? Because you're the Pirate King's son makes you special?"

_For heaven's sake._ _Shut. Up. What is wrong with me?_

Fire crackled and burned on Ace's skin at the mention on his father. There was something so feral yet so pained in his eyes that made Edan freeze to the core. He truly thought he was going to die there. After all the crap he had gone through, he would get killed by his own uncle, for a fate they both shared.

"A- Ace…"

"Who told you that?"

"I- I…"

"WHO TOLD YOU THAT?"

Footsteps were heard from below deck as people heard the commotion. Marco got down from the crow's nest to try and calm Ace down before he burned the kid alive. Said kid was staring in awe at the damage he had caused. He had no idea Ace had had such a hard time coping with this issue.

"I… I'm so… sorry, I didn't…" He didn't know who he was talking to. It could be Ace for pissing him off or the crew for waking them up. It didn't really matter. What he said was true. Most of all, he was sorry. Sorry for ever bringing it up, sorry for ever asking.

Maybe Edan truly didn't understand.

Or maybe it was just Ace that didn't.

* * *

He spent the rest of the night up in the crow's nest with Marco. Neither of them got much sleep, until the boy finally gave in to exhaustion in the early hours of the morning. It was around lunchtime that he woke up, surprised to find a thin blanket on top of him which hadn't been there before. A small, grateful smile graced his lips at the sight, but Marco wasn't in the room anymore to be thanked.

Clumsily he stumbled over to the window and looked down at the deck to see what was happening. People were starting to head to the dining hall, the scent of food spreading over the deck all the way up to the crow's nest. Edan's stomach growled loudly, saliva gathering in his mouth at the smell. No breakfast and now he couldn't go down for lunch either. A large pout full of complain and misery showed on his face as he sat back down, trying not to imagine what sort of delicious food this scent belonged to. Ugh, why did he have to piss Ace off so much?

"Oi, Edan! How long are you planning on sleeping?" A voice called and the boy crawled back to the window to find out who it was. Thatch was down there, grinning up at him. "Oh, you're awake! Don't tell me you're skipping lunch? There's a plate in there with your name on it."

His stomach apparently agreed with Thatch, if the loud noise was any indication. Deciding food was more important than a few burn marks from his dear uncle, he climbed down and hoped Ace would be either in a better mood or far away from where he would be sitting

The man noticed his anxious look when he came down and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, it'll be fine. I don't know what happened between you and Ace last night, but I don't think he'll kill you."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," he muttered and started heading towards the smell of food. Thatch merely laughed, following him closely.

As always, the hall was messy and loud and so full of life, it would have immediately lifted the kid's spirit, had it not been for the burning glare he received the moment he stepped in from none other than his favorite fire user. Originally it was just a glance he had given him, but when Edan smiled a little at him, it turned into a look that could kill. Oh, the family ties.

"Uh-oh. You're in trouble, kid," Thatch pointed out, before leading them at the other end of the room, away from the enraged man.

"Thatch, you really don't have to do this…" Edan mumbled, ashamed to have brought such a conflict on the ship.

"Nonsense. You have a right to eat without burning to death. I asked Oyaji to bring you here, you're my responsibility. Just don't pick any more fights, will you?"

There was humor in the man's voice, but it didn't stop Edan from quietly apologizing. They sat on the table where the doctor sat, who was apparently still fuming over the situation in the infirmary. A few other pirates he didn't recognize were also there and after a few introductions were made, the conversations flared up and he was actually having fun for a while. The only wonder was how he was able to _have _a conversation with the way he was shoveling food in his mouth.

However when Ace got up to leave, Edan decided he couldn't have things like that. He still wasn't sure how he got here, what he was supposed to do or how to get out. However what he did know was that this was his only chance to meet this person and he couldn't afford to ruin it all like this. So when the older man made his move, Edan got up abruptly and rushed over to him, making sure to keep a little distance.

"Ace…" he called, surprisingly not faltering under the furious look he was given.

"What?" he all but growled at the kid.

"I'm sorry, I am. I was completely out of line last night, assuming things I shouldn't have. It will not happen again and it would make me very happy if we could leave it behind us. I'm really sorry. Forgive me?"

The pure honesty in Edan's request for forgiveness would have been enough to convince most people. And if that didn't work, his last two words were accompanied by a huge smile, wide enough to envelop his entire face and close his eyes. Ace felt his heart clench for a moment. A barely heard "aw" came from somewhere in the crowd at the sunshine radiating from the kid.

"You…" Ace faltered for a moment, not sure how to react to that. "Alright," he finally nodded, before leaving, trying to shake off the image of that smile from his head.

Suddenly the man missed his brother so much…

* * *

_"Has anyone ever told you… you have your father's smile? Don't ever let anyone take it away from you."_

* * *

Α/Ν: Was this a little OOC? Maybe. Sorry. Anyway, the next chapter will probably come soon as it's something I've been waiting to write for a while now. Until then, leave a review and tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6: Scars

A/N: Here we are again. And with my inspiration being the way it is right now, there's going to be new one in the next few days as well, if not tomorrow.

Honeydee, mad, I'm sorry, the flashback I promised will be in the next chapter, because this one ran a little long. Hope you like it anyhow. Please wait another few days.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Scars**

After three days on the Moby Dick, Edan was longing for a new set of clothes. But considering he was eating their food on top of taking up space and pissing off crewmembers who could set the whole thing on fire, it didn't feel right to ask for anything more. So he was very thankful when someone noticed.

"Dude, take a freaking shower."

Albeit a bit rudely.

"I don't have any clothes. Or towels for that matter," Edan grumbled.

They were having breakfast, this time on the same table as Ace and Marco, since the fire user was now on speaking terms with him, even if he was still a little suspicious. Everyone turned to the boy at the comment. Thank you, Thatch.

"Why didn't you ask then, yoi?" Marco asked, looking slightly amused.

Edan put his fork down, realizing he wasn't getting out of the conversation. And to be completely honest, he hoped by the end of it he would somehow find himself emerged in water. Preferably not in the sea. "Because it's getting ridiculous! I can't keep asking you guys for stuff."

Thatch smiled kindly at him. "It's not a big deal. Just until we reach the next island. Then you can get your own. Do you have any money with you?"

The boy's fingers brushed over a little bulge in his pocket. He had a few notes with him. Definitely enough for some cheap clothing. "Some, I guess."

"Great. Until then we'll find something for you. And if you feel so guilty about it, you can find work on the ship."

"Like what?"

"Are you good at cooking?" Thatch asked.

Edan tried to be perfectly honest with the man. "I'm good at eating."

"What about navigating?" Ace tried again, quirking a smile at the kid's previous answer.

'Well, that depends…" he said, faking thoughtfulness, absentmindedly playing with the fork in his mouth. "… how much do you fancy running into a storm?'

Thatch narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Are you good at anything else apart from being cheeky?" A round of chuckling sounded from the table. "In that case, basic stuff. Dishes, cleaning, helping in cases of emergency, keeping night watch. How's that?"

"I could do that."

"Perfect," Marco nodded, barely interested any more. "For now, grab a clean towel from the laundry room, a shirt from Ace and go take a damn shower, yoi."

Ace coughed loudly, surprised by the statement. "Why _my _shirt?"

"Because you never wear one," he shrugged.

"It's going to be too big on him."

"_Everyone's_ shirt is going to be too big on him, yoi. He's fourteen."

A string of incoherent words, possibly curses, left the raven-haired man's mouth. Marco smirked, knowing he had won.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ace was rummaging through his stuff, looking for the smallest clothes he could find for the kid. Edan stood awkwardly a little further away, looking hesitantly at him making a mess. Suddenly, a large orange towel was thrown at his face and he scrambled to catch it.

"Didn't Marco say to pick a towel from the laundry room?"

"Yeah? Whose towel are you going to get? Don't worry, it's perfectly clean," Ace grumbled, his face still hiding in a pile of clothes. There was a large wooden chest next to the bed for their stuff that was now almost empty. The man would probably need to wash all his clothes again.

"Sorry, Ace. I gave you so much trouble," the kid said, playing with the hem of his shirt.

With his head submerged in the chest, his shoulders moved in a shrug. "Don't sweat it. It's not your fault." His voice came with a little echo and Edan couldn't help but be a little amused. A few seconds later, Ace emerged triumphant. "There! Found it!"

Ace presented a pair of clothes to him, which would in no way fit the older man now but would probably work fine for the boy, even if they were still a little large. "I had those with me, when I first left home at seventeen. Can't believe I still have them. If my brother could fit in those at fourteen, you definitely can."

Edan did a double take. "Your _brother_? I thought these are your clothes."

"They are, but Luffy took my clothes a lot. Especially little before I left. And you're a bit larger than him too, more defined. You'll be fine with these."

He handed the clothes over to the kid, before inspecting the mess he had made of his clothes and leaving a long sigh. "Oh, man. That wasn't the smartest thing to do. Well, I'll head to the laundry room then. If you leave your clothes outside the door I'll take yours as well." As he went to pick up his stuff from the floor, he missed the surprised look he was given.

"Thank you, Ace."

Ace merely grunted in response and Edan headed for the bathroom before the man called for him, his tone a little colder than before. "Hey, Edan. After you're done, we need to talk. You've got some explaining to do."

The younger tensed at the words, but nodded anyway. Honestly, he had been expecting something like this.

* * *

_Oh, man. That's the stuff, _Edan thought as he felt the hot water wash over him. Even though he was practically burning, the feel was exhilarating. He hadn't had a chance to relax like this for a while. With his eyes closed, he started rubbing on his body and messy mop of black hair, washing away the fatigue of the last few days.

He tried not to waste too much time and water, though, so soon it was time to get out. After drying up, he wrapped the towel around his waist and moved to grab the clothes, when the door opened. A blur of black showed for barely a second before it closed again and an awkward mumble was heard from the other side.

"Sorry, Edan... Thought you were done."

Edan pulled up his pants and replied with a clearly amused tone. "it's ok, Ace. I'm done, you can come in." The man walked in with a sheepish grin on his face. "Was I really that long?"

"Nah, not really. I should have figured you were in here, you weren't making a mess of anything outside…"

The kid laughed slightly. "I'm not that bad, am I?" He grabbed the light blue shirt he was given. "Ace?" It was then that he realized how Ace was unusually quiet. "_Ace_?"

When he looked back around, he found the fire user staring at him with wide eyes, futilely trying to hide his surprise. It was sort of creeping Edan out. "What is it? What's wrong?" Once again there was no reply. Following his eyes, he found out exactly what had the guy so freaked out. Suddenly, he wished for a larger towel.

Looking down on his bare chest, he found the source of Ace's distress. Gashes, cuts, crisscrosses… numerous scars littered the slightly tanned skin, making him look older than his fourteen years. There was even a small burn mark on his shoulder. He had rolled his eyes at the irony when he had gained it. Fire had got burned. The largest one ran down his left arm, from shoulder to elbow, painful looking and faded at the edges with age.

* * *

_"Ow. Ow!" the ten-year-old whined as the needle pierced his skin again. Tears had gathered in his bright blue eyes, yet he refused to let them flow._

_ His doctor looked up at him sympathetically, concern evident in his large eyes. "I'm sorry, Edan. I'll try to be gentler."_

_ The boy, despite the pain he was in, smiled shakily at him, all the while trying not to look at the blood coating his arm. "It… It's okay, Chopper. You're doing great. Thank you."_

_ Chopper felt like crying at the pure trust in the kid's voice. Never mind the fact that he was tearing into his skin with hardly any painkillers, he was trying so hard to be strong, to not make him worry. _

_ It took them a solid half hour to finish with the stitches, during which Edan didn't utter a single word of complain at the treatment. He bit his lip, clenched his fists, at some point he started trembling a little for a short while, but he never complained again. Not even when Chopper told him to do so already, because it was even worse to see him like this._

_ Only after they were done, did the kid utter something, staring at his now bandaged armed curiously. "Is this going to scar?"_

_ The little reindeer looked thoughtful for a moment before finally deciding what to answer. "Probably." He was surprised to hear a groan for the boy. "Why? Scars are pretty cool."_

_"Yeah, but if this keeps happening by the time I'm 17 I'll be a map."_

_"It won't keep happening, Edan," Chopper tried to comfort the young child._

_ The look on his eyes spoke clearly. _I'm not so sure about that_._

* * *

He abruptly put the shirt on, hiding his marks immediately. His cheeks burned in embarrassment and to his annoyance he found Ace still staring at him when he looked back up.

"Please stop. You're making me uncomfortable."

That seemed to shake him off his thoughts. Instantly, Ace looked at the boy's face and his eyes widened, as if he was surprised to find all he had seen belonged to him. "Sorry… Sorry… Edan- how?"

"I get in trouble. A lot. It's no big deal," he muttered and headed past him for the door.

However Ace wasn't letting him go so easily. A muscled arm grabbed his shoulder and forced the kid to face him. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course, it's a big deal. How could you get in so much trouble?"

"I _told_ you, Ace," he replied and there was something different in his blue eyes. Something darker, something pained. "I've been chased around because of my family for years."

"You… you got… all of these injuries… because of your family?" Black eyes were wide with shock. He knew about being hated because of family, but Ace had never actually been physically hurt because of it, unless it was him who had started the fight. How did this kid get this battered up? What the hell kind of lineage did he have?

Edan could never hate his family for this. He loved his father, his mother, the crew. But he didn't appreciate being studied like that. Not by a person who almost killed him for bringing the subject up. Family or not.

"_What difference does it make, Ace?!"_ He yelled at him, upset for the first time since coming here. "I can take care of myself."

"Clearly, you can't!" Ace raised his voice at him as well.

"Why do you care?"

And yet again he got no answer from the man. Biting his lip until it bled, he muttered something to him and walked out of the room.

"Thanks for the clothes. If you still want to talk after this, come to me after dinner. Just leave me alone for a while."

* * *

A/N: Hey, just because Edan is a lot like Luffy doesn't mean he can't be a little like Ace. Come on, I made this chapter extra long and extra fast, I deserve a comment from you guys! Pretty please? You can tell me you didn't like this aspect of his personality if you want, because to be honest I'm not sure I do.


	7. Chapter 7: Fragments

**A/N:** And here we are again. Hands up who's surprised! No one? Ok... We have a special flashback in this chapter and I really hope you guys like it. Speaking of, is there anyone specific you'd like to see in a flashback? Feel free to ask.

**Important note about the story: **Because everyone has been asking me that for the past six chapters, _Edan's mother_ will _not_ be mentioned by name. You can assume it is whoever you want (though Nami and Robin will be shown in flashbacks).

With that said, on with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Fragments**

Edan somehow found himself in their room, lying on his stomach on the bed, his fingers absentmindedly brushing the straw hat underneath. A quiet groan was muffled by his head on the pillow, but the complaint in it was evident anyway. How had this happened? Why had he got into a fight with Ace? _Another_ fight for that matter. It was supposed to be resolved tonight and now he went ahead and picked a fight with him _himself_!

They had to solve this. Tonight.

"Ace? You here?" A voice came from the door and Edan turned to find Jozu standing there. The boy sat up on the bed and looked at him curiously.

"He's not here," he said. "He's in the shower."

Jozu studied him carefully for a moment before smiling at him slightly. "You're the new kid, right? Edan?" At his nod, he added: "Well, could you help me out with something? It won't take long."

What wouldn't take long actually kept them occupied way past lunchtime. Though, to be completely honest, by the end of it they were mostly talking, a group of people having gathered around them and ultimately ruining any productivity they had left.

Edan couldn't help but notice how different these people were in this time. Back home, back in the future, he had met some of the crew, most of which was now led by Marco. Yet this entirely carefree attitude, like nothing could ever bring them down was absent. Watching them like this, so unbelievably content sent a stab of pain through his heart. Teach's betrayal and the death of their captain must have scarred them more than they let on.

"So, Edan," Haruta asked, looking at the young boy with interest. He was actually very fond of Haruta, both in this time and his own. She seemed cute on the outside and was a sincerely nice person, but was in fact unbelievably badass. "What are your plans?"

"My plans?"

"You're going to ditch us at the next island? Go home?" She smirked at him before adding, "Join us?"

Edan's eyes widened comically, but quickly calmed down and gave her his best grin. She was just one of the people he felt more comfortable with, even if in this time she had just met him. "I can't very well invite myself to your crew, can I?"

"Plus, he and Ace have tried to kill each other quite a few times already," Vista added, stroking his mustache thoughtfully.

"And how's that a problem?" She asked. "Don't tell me you forgot how _Ace_ joined the crew."

"Did somebody say my name?"

The kid froze at the sound of the voice._ Maybe I should leave…_ Hesitantly, he turned around to face the raven-haired man. Ace was looking at him, but trying to be discreet about it. The others didn't seem to notice the atmosphere and invited him to join, until he mentioned what he really had in mind.

"Edan, can I talk to you?"

"No," the kid blurted out without thinking. His cheeks burned once he realized what he had said, courtesy of a round of laughter in the group and stumbled to fix it. "I-I mean… W-why now?... Didn't we say… after dinner?"

Ace shrugged and Edan understood that he wasn't getting out of this. "Do you really mind?"

The boy pushed himself up with a sigh, trying to mentally prepare himself for a round of interrogating, suspicion and who knows what else. "Sure, why not?"

Five minutes later, they were up in the crow's nest in an attempt to have some privacy. Knowing their luck and the crew, it wouldn't exactly be a success, but it was the best choice they had.

Edan was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his eyes glued to his lap. He heard the sound of Ace taking a seat himself and waited for the other to talk first. He wouldn't know what to say anyway. Where was he supposed to begin? He didn't even have a clue as to how he would explain himself to begin with.

However, Ace said something entirely unexpected.

"I'm sorry."

The boy did a double take. "Excuse me, _what_?"

Ace seemed to really struggle with the words, pride getting in the way yet again. His mouth was set in a tight line as he grumbled, "I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have pried. And about the other day. Obviously you understand more about the lineage situation than I gave you credit for." With that, he crossed his hands in front of his chest and looked at him expectantly, almost challengingly.

Naturally the boy was quite shocked. He blinked, closed his gaping mouth and tried to find the words needed for this. "Uh… thanks. For… what is worth, I'm sorry, too. I was way out of line, telling you what to do like that."

"So you're not pissed at me?"

"Pissed at you?" The teen repeated, tilting his head slightly to the side in confusion. "Why would I be pissed at you?"

Ace scoffed. "You seemed pretty pissed a few hours ago."

"Oh... No, I wasn't pissed at you."

"_Come_ on."

"It wasn't _you_ I was mad at," he insisted.

The man leaned in front, staring at the boy curiously. "Then who?" But he didn't appear very eager to answer, drawing his knees close to his chest and placing his head on them with a pout. "Come on, tell me," Ace pushed.

"Myself," he eventually sighed, utterly confusing the older.

"Care to explain?"

"It's just…" He paused, trying to find the right words. "Once I got my first scar," he said, gesturing to his left arm. "I sort of promised myself it wouldn't happen again. I wouldn't let them hurt me, wouldn't let the people who care about me worry about me and wouldn't let myself despise my very own father because of something as stupid as lineage. But obviously… it didn't work that way." Another sigh and Ace frowned at the disappointment evident in it. "Out of all three, I've only managed to do the last one."

"The last one? You mean you don't hate him? For what he's done to you?" he asked with genuine interest in his hesitant eyes.

Edan's shoulders slumped and suddenly he looked so much older than his fourteen years. "Hate him?" He repeated as if surprised at the question, his bright blue eyes staring in front of him, unfocused, unseeing. "No… I could never… hate him."

He closed his eyes then, letting one of the most precious moments of his life flash before them.

* * *

_ A little kid, no older than three ran up to the voice that had called for him. A raven-haired man was waiting at the top of the hill, a huge smile brighter than the sun adorning his face. The child giggled happily as he was picked up by his father, who in return chuckled at the sound._

_"Daddy!"_

_"Hey, Edan! What were you doing down there?" the man laughed, nodding at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, where his son had been sitting before._

_ The boy's eyes were sparkling with an excitement echoed in his words. It warmed his heart to see it. "I was looking at the ocean! It's _so_ huge, dad!" He extended his little chubby hands upwards while his voice held an amazement like he was the first person to ever notice such a thing. A nostalgic look crossed his father's face and young Edan smiled widely at him, a pleading look in his eyes. "Tell me a story! Tell me about one of your adventures…! Please?"_

_ The mood brightened immediately and, inclined to fulfill the request, he carried his son back to the cliff and placed him on his lap. The child snuggled close to him, almost hiding in his large coat and breathed in the familiar scent of meat and sea and adventure that followed his dad around._

_"Alright then. Hmm…" he appeared thoughtful for a moment, trying to decide which story to tell the boy. "Have I ever told you about Sky Island?"_

_"An island… in the sky?" The kid's eyes grew twice their size at the idea, interest immediately flaring up._

_"Well, Zoro, Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Chopper, Robin and I were on our way though the Grand Line when…"_

_"…and the log pose was pointing upwards!"_

_"… with my hand stuck in a huge golden ball…"_

_"… and the octopus suddenly inflated! It carried us all the way down like a giant balloon!"_

_ Edan cheered and clapped and laughed, the three-year-old having the time of his life. A soft smile showed on his father's face at the sight._

_"Luffy! Edan! Hurry up or there will be nothing left to eat!" A voice came from the top of the hill._

_ The two instantly scrambled up and the older immediately declared it a race back to the house. Of course Luffy let the boy win and laughed with all his heart at the proud cheers the kid gave for his victory._

* * *

Fourteen-year-old Edan placed his head in his hands, a familiar pain gripping at his heart. "I could _never_ hate him."

* * *

A/N: Eh. The first part of the chapter was completely pointless (which was probably why I was so stuck on it for a while) but I hope you liked the last part. What did you think of the appearance of Luffy? Please, let me know! :) Chapter 8 is coming up soon!


	8. Chapter 8: Trust Me

A/N: Phew! That was fast. I'm really out of things to say, so I'll just let you read.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Trust Me**

Ace stared at the upset boy, at loss of what to do. He had no idea his questions would bring such a reaction. This kid wasn't furious at his family. He looked like he was hurting. "Hey, you ok?"

Surprised, Edan jumped up, having momentarily forgotten where he was. "Yeah, sorry… Sorry…" he mumbled, but refused to look at the other. There was a sudden darkness in his eyes and Ace could tell the boy still wasn't one hundred percent with him.

The realization of what had caused this shocked the man.

"You _remember_ him, don't you? Your father?"

When Edan turned to him again, he was wearing a tired look that contrasted his young face. It worried him a little. "Not much. Just pieces, fragments. A smile, a laugh, a touch… But there are a few solid memories in there, too."

With a soft smile, Ace looked sympathetically at him. "How old were you… when he died? Or did he just leave?"

"He died. A little while before I turned four." He quieted down after that. Neither of them really knew what to say to that. Suddenly, the kid addressed him with a newfound certainty. "Ace, people say horrible things about my dad. Things I know aren't true. I know it because I've met him and he would never do that. And even if he did, I could forgive him, because he was great enough for me to forgive everything. _You_ didn't get a chance to do that. You didn't meet your father."

"Your point being?" Ace asked, ticked off a bit at the mention of Roger.

"_Don't_ believe what people tell you about him."

There was such determination in that statement, such conviction that he almost found himself believing it. Edan was absolutely sure of what he was saying. And in the end, it made sense. That is, until he remembered who they were talking about.

"This is Gol D Roger we're talking about. All these people can't be wrong."

"_Why_ _not_?" The boy insisted, after resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his uncle's stubbornness. "People are _scared_ of power, Ace. And that leads them to hate it. They hate you, not because of what Roger did, but because you might turn out just as powerful. Roger did nothing wrong except for getting stronger and stronger, strong enough to become the King."

Eyes narrowed with uncertainty, Ace thought over the kid's words. "To reach that high… He must have done some seriously bad things. You think the whole world's lying?"

Edan huffed, frustration settling in. So Ace wasn't entirely like him. Without being able to remember his father, he was willing to believe every lie they told him. If the boy couldn't defend Roger as a person, who _could_ he defend?

Wait…

"What about your brother?" He blurted out before he could change his mind about the risk he was taking.

It definitely got Ace's attention, who studied him carefully, wary about where the kid was going with it. "What about him?"

"He wants to become Pirate King, right?"

"He does…" he confirmed, albeit a little cautious. "Wait, did I tell you that?" he added as an afterthought, causing the boy to freeze.

"You… most certainly did!" Edan felt like slapping himself when he let out an awkward chuckle. "Who else could have told me?" Ace clearly wasn't convinced and so he rushed to continue. "Anyway, he wants to become the Pirate King. Which means he'll become strong and free… Which means he'll be hated."

"Hey…" Ace warned, a low growl involuntarily ripping from his throat.

Edan raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "I didn't mean it like that. But… Luffy…" The name felt alien yet welcome on his tongue, having never called his dad by name before. As weird as it was, he would have to get used to it, for as long as he stayed in this time. "Luffy will get a bounty and his very own reputation. And it'll probably be pretty bad, Ace. Not all of it will be true, especially if he does become the King. Will you believe what the world will tell you about him or what you already know?"

"Luffy's not a bad person."

"That's what you say. Because you know him. Like I know my dad. But because you don't know Roger, you believe all the crap they tell you."

Ace didn't reply, waiting for him to finish. Edan's voice was gaining in confidence, like a lawyer who knew had already won and was ready to deliver the final hit.

"Tell me just one thing, Ace… How many of those people you talked to… have actually _met_ Gol. D Roger?"

Memories of Naguri came to Ace, a man defeated by his father to the extent of his entire crew disbanding but still managed not to hate him. Instead he respected him. Was that a more accurate image of who Roger was, for those willing to listen?

Edan was resting with his back against the wall, hands crossed in front of his chest as he waited for Ace to take it all in. He didn't allow himself to be relieved just yet. The man was ridiculously unpredictable. Somehow, he would find something to counter his argument with. However, since Ace was seriously struggling with the idea, Edan decided to finally make the point that started the entire argument.

"You know…" he began and the older looked up at him with mild curiosity. "Whitebeard did know Roger. So I bet his opinion of him isn't that bad either. Take the damn commander position, will you?"

Ace was surprised by the change in the subject and a thin smirk appeared on his face. "You went through all that explaining to get me promoted? Wow, you really hate sharing that bunk bed with me, huh?"

A wide grin spread on the boy's face, similar to the one he gave a few days ago. Bright and carefree, it was as if their previous conversation never happened. Ace blinked at the sight, his eyes softening. "What are you doing?"

His expression never faltered, though his eyes opened slightly. "It's called smiling. Ever heard of it?"

"I mean…" Ace paused, realizing how outrageous his question would sound. "Why like this?"

That definitely confused the other boy, who adopted a puzzled expression, head tilted slightly to the right. "Is there a wrong way to smile?"

"No, forget it. It's nothing."

"Come on. Tell me!" Edan smiled again, curiosity sparkling in his eyes. "What's the matter?"

"You smile like my brother does," he eventually admitted with a shrug.

The kid's mouth took an _o_ shape. This information wasn't new. Many times before, people who had known Luffy had pointed out the fact to him. Even so, Edan had never thought that together with his surname and his hat, his smile would be one of the things in need of hiding. They wouldn't suspect him because of that, would they? Then again, would it be bad if they knew? What if…

"Ace…" he began on impulse, but paused when Ace turned to him. There was no hostility in his eyes. He wasn't mad at him anymore.

_He'd never believe me. It will make us start fighting again._

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you enough not to burn you alive for having way too much information on my past. How did you learn about it anyway?"

_It's not enough._

"Do you trust me enough to go talk to Whitebeard?" he tried instead, dodging the question. Ace opened his mouth to protest, so Edan pushed even harder. "He let me on this ship, Ace. Even if I refused to give him a last name of all things. He won't hate you for this. Trust me. Hey, if I'm wrong, you're free to burn me alive."

"Edan…"

"I'm not kidding. Go."

Ace narrowed his eyes at him, as if looking for a reason the kid was trying to help him so much. _Look all you want, Ace. You'd never believe why I'm helping you_. "Under one condition." Edan raised his brows at him. "Tell me how you knew who my father was."

He audibly groaned at the request. There was no way he could explain that. Who could have told him? Who could he point out as the snitch and make it believable enough? "It doesn't really matter…"

"Like hell, it doesn't!" Ace exclaimed without any real anger behind it. "I've been keeping it a secret for twenty years and then this random kid pops up and knows it already. _Who_ told you?"

He knew he shouldn't say the next few words. A whole new world of trouble was waiting for him if he said something like that. There just didn't seem to be any other way around it. _Oh, I'm so screwed._

"I've… met Luffy."

* * *

A/N: So yeah... This conversation isn't exactly over yet. Next chapter should be up real soon! Till next time!


	9. Chapter 9: Worst Lesson Ever

A/N: I wasn't planning to update today. I wasn't even planning to finish the chapter there. But if I kept going it would have been too long. That said, I hope this doesn't disappoint and the next one should be up soon!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Worst Lesson Ever**

Edan demanded an award. He deserved it. After all, he had just taken _screwing yourself over_ to a whole new level. He literally brought a palm to his face, struggling to believe how complicated he had made this conversation. Cautiously, he turned to see Ace's reaction.

The raven-haired man was staring at him, his onyx eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Not that anyone could blame him. Edan briefly considered jumping off the ship just to avoid the conversation and was willing to do exactly that, if Namur hadn't been there to fish him out. It would only make Ace more suspicious. _Yes, because now he believes every word you say. Idiot._ Was there really a way out of this?

"You…_what_?"

It was bit too late to say _nothing_ now, wasn't it? Oh well.

"Nothing, never mind," he mumbled uncomfortably and made a move to leave. Tough luck. Ace acted immediately, grabbing his hand in a grip so tight the boy flinched.

"Are you kidding me? What did you just say?" Ace all but growled at him, his shock turned to wariness.

However when Edan looked at him, his blue eyes were filled with such an intense pleading that his grip slackened a little, his face relaxing just a bit. "Ace…" The kid said with a whine. "Can we just…"

"If you expect me to let you get away with this, forget it," Ace stated strictly, even if he was beginning to let go of his arms.

"That wasn't what I was going to say…" Edan muttered, looking away, slightly embarrassed.

Confusion settled and he had to ask, "What then?"

"Can we just… do it after dinner?" He shrugged, giving him a lopsided grin. "I missed lunch, I'm _starving_. Have some sympathy."

The raven-haired man frowned, before taking a peek outside and taking in the scent of food lingering in the air. Thoughtful, he turned back to Edan and nodded. "Absolutely."

As they made their way to the dining hall, Edan couldn't help but wonder how certain they were he and Ace weren't actually _blood _related…

* * *

The two had already started stuffing their faces, manners mostly forgotten, when Marco and Thatch joined them. The latter took in Edan's cleaner appearance, new clothes and all, and gave a small smirk.

"Blue? Excellent choice, Ace. It brings out his eyes…"

Ace for his part, chocked on his drink at the unexpected comment, while the kid just laughed, enjoying the few moments of relaxation before what was bound to be the most awkward conversation of his life. Did he have to be such a horrible liar? How would he ever finish this seemingly never-ending talk?

"Thank you, Thatch," he joked, raising his glass at him.

"No problem," the man laughed. "So did you guys make up yet?" The uncomfortable look shared by them was all the answer needed. "No it is, then. What's wrong this time?"

Edan shrugged, turning his attention back to eating. Man, this food was good. Not Sanji good, but _good_. "Nothing you need to worry about, Thatch. It'll be solved by tomorrow."

"That's it?" Marco narrowed his eyes, studying the pair carefully.

"Yeah. Of course, there's a chance I'll be burned alive, but even so the argument will be solved."

Thatch looked at a smirking Ace incredulously. Both of them seemed entirely calm and ok with it, yet neither of them were actually joking. "Well, that's one way of doing it," he eventually let it go. Ace wouldn't truly kill the kid… Would he?

* * *

Edan left dinner earlier than the rest of them and for a moment Ace was wondered if he would run off. Soon he realized though, that there was no possible place he could have gone, unless he jumped into the ocean. Ok, the conversation was tough, but he doubted the kid would resort to such measures.

Sure enough, Edan was at the same place he had found him a few days ago, leaning against the railing on the right side of the ship. Ace approached steadily, not turning to him, instead copying his stance and staring at the endless ocean. Night had fallen already and moonlight casted long shadows on their faces. Silence settled for a while, calming, comfortable and Edan dreaded the moment it would be broken.

Ace shifted his eyes to him and was surprised to find him shivering a bit. The shirt he had given him was short sleeved and not particularly thick either. Just because Ace was fire and had long forgotten the meaning of being cold, didn't mean the rest of the world felt the same. He thought about ignoring it for a second, but the boy really looked uncomfortable, his arms wrapped around himself for extra warmth.

With a smirk playing on his lips, he created a small fireball, which earned him surprised looks from random crewmates passing by as well as from the kid himself. Wordlessly, he gently pushed it in front of him, cautiously letting it float there. He carefully studied his reaction, a sense of accomplishment washing over him at the large, bright grin that appeared once Edan realized what he had just done.

A content sight left the boy as he took in the warmth provided. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Do we really have to talk about this now?"

"I deserve an answer, Edan."

"Fair enough," he nodded and prepared himself for the question that was about to come.

"So, you said you've met Luffy?"

There you go. Now there were two ways he could go with this. Either he could tell the truth, a truth that Ace would _never_ believe no matter how convincing, or he could, with his limited skills, lie his ass off. The real question was, how much did he fancy getting a few more burn marks?

Well, lying it was then.

Trying to keep his calm demeanor, Edan tried to remember what he knew about lying… Knowing how horrible Luffy was at it and worried he would inherit that as well, the Straw Hats had tried to teach him. At least one of them did…

* * *

_"Ok, Edan, listen here. The Great Usopp-sama is going to teach you all you need to know about lying!" The long nosed man declared, thrusting his hands in the air._

_ The ten-year-old tilted his head in confusion. "Lying? Why would you need to teach me that?"_

_ It was one of the few occasions where the whole crew gathered together in one place and with recent events everyone was somewhat reluctant to leave just yet. Usopp and the kid were sitting cross-legged on the floor, the latter staring at the other with interest. The man seemed honestly surprised at his question though._

_"Because it's an essential skill, of course! Your… father…" the word sounded forced and the sniper's eyes seemed pained for just a second before regaining his composure. "Well, he couldn't lie to save his life. You might need to." Black eyes lingered on the bandage peeking underneath the boy's left sleeve. "So, _I'm _going to teach you how!"_

_"Hate to break it to you, Usopp, but you can't lie either," Zoro muttered from where he was trying to sleep in the corner of the room._

_"He's right, you know," Nami added. "Edan, don't listen to a word he says."_

_ Usopp glared at them, causing the young kid to chuckle with amusement. "Don't listen to them, Edan! I will turn you into a great liar!"_

_ A voice, possibly belonging to Sanji, came from the other room. "He's going to waste your time, kid."_

_ Edan was openly laughing by then, his eyes shifting between them, fascinated by their carefree interactions and teasing. "I guess it wouldn't hurt," he shrugged and switched his attention back to their resident liar._

_ Usopp seemed pleased with the answer and immediately started the weirdest lesson Edan had had to this day. It could be basically summed up in three points. "Because," to quote the man, "you're a horrible liar in the first place, keep as close to the truth as you can." Then you had to "try to keep calm, not stammer, mumble or fidget, unless it's part of the act," and finally "don't overdo it". For some reason the kid didn't understand at the time, the rest of the crew had laughed at that, much to Usopp's annoyance._

_ To be completely honest with himself, Edan really thought the Straw Hats may have been right about the legitimacy of the lesson._

* * *

Currently, Edan didn't like his chances of this ending well.

"I… did. I did meet Luffy. Some time ago on Dawn Island…" he eventually said, hoping Ace would take the hesitation as a result of him being interrogated like that.

_Dawn Island, wasn't it? Where dad grew up? _Well, Ace didn't seem ready to kill him yet, so that part must have been correct.

"How long ago?" Ace asked with genuine curiosity.

Edan bit back a curse. _Depends on how old you are Ace! Ok, think fast. What would be a completely plausible answer? _"A-a year… I think."

"Huh. How the hell did you find him?"

The boy froze, having absolutely no idea what he meant by that. Was he hard to find? Why? He _really _needed to learn more about his father's past. _Come on, think. What do you know about him?_ "I saw him in Windmill Village…"

"Wait…" Ace's eyes were narrowed and Edan swore he saw a bit of his life flash before his eyes. Perhaps he should have just told the truth. Immediate burning was better than wondering when you were going to get hit. "Why was he down from the mountains?"

_Dad lived on the _mountains_? _ OK, so why _would_ he be down at the village then? A name, a name… Someone he could have gone to see. Wait. What about Benn's story about him and Red-Haired Shanks? "He went to visit a woman… Makino, was it?"

He bit back a sigh of relief when Ace nodded at the information. So that was believable enough, ok. Good. Maybe he should just finish this quickly. "I don't remember exactly how it happened…" _Mostly because it didn't._ "But one thing led to another and I guess… it just slipped."

Honestly, he wasn't prepared for what would follow his words.

The fireball suddenly flared dangerously along with Ace's rage. Fire licked at his shoulders and arms as he gripped the railing tightly, a low growl leaving his lips. The boy took a tentative step back. "A-Ace?"

"It just _slipped_?" He all but snarled at him, anger burning in those black eyes on his. "It was the biggest secret of my _life_ and he went ahead and told it to a complete _stranger_? What the hell is that idiot THINKING?!" The fires grew in size and intensity, ultimately scaring the other, who was staring wide eyed at what he had done.

Had he just screwed over his own father?

_Ok, I need to fix this. Somehow. Before he goes and kills dad for no reason._

"Ace, wait! There's… there's more to it than just that…"

A deadly glare was directed at him and the kid froze under the mere intensity of it. "You have five minutes," Ace stated, trying to keep his temper under control. _"Explain_."

* * *

A/N: Ok, so you're going to have to bear with this for one more chapter. It probably won't take any longer than that. The flashback with Usopp was a bit different from the rest, but I hope it was still a little good. Anyway, that's all for now!


	10. Chapter 10: Disaster Averted

A/N: Wow! 100 reviews! You guys rock, thanks so much! Unfortunately, I'll be gone for the weekend so unless I write another chapter today (NOT) the next one should be up on Monday or Tuesday. This chapter is a little different, there's a lot of small scenes and a lot of dialogue, but I hope you still like it. That said, ON with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Disaster Averted **

If there was one thing Edan regretted about this situation was letting Ace shoo away every crewmember that had come to his rescue after seeing the fire burning so dangerously close to him. Even Thatch and Marco had left, albeit more reluctantly. Once the coast was clear, Ace turned his most heated glare towards the boy and demanded an explanation. Fantastic.

"Ace…"

"_Now_, Edan."

Ok then, there was no way out of this. Edan took a second to think of how he could go about explaining this. There was one thing Usopp had told him that was actually somewhat useful. Keep close to the truth. So how did he find out about Ace? Well, wait, that could work.

_"To be honest, Edan, most of us have been shunned at some point in our lives. Especially devil fruit users in the Blues or even the Grand Line."_

_"Even dad?"_

_"Possibly."_

"Well… while in Windmill Village, I noticed him staying away from other people his age…" His heart was beating frantically against his ribcage. The tiniest slip up could get him killed. His fingers wrapped around his shirt in a white knuckled grip in an effort to keep himself under control. "It seemed weird so… I approached him. When I got closer…"

_"Is this going to scar?"_

_"Probably… Why? Scars are cool."_

"H-he… saw the scar on my arm and thought it was really cool. So he asked me the story behind it. I'm not sure why I told him…"

_ Luffy lifted the crying three-year-old and held him tightly in his arms. With a frown on his face, he wiped the tears from the child's cheeks, studying him worriedly. "What is it, Edan? What's the matter?"_

_ His lower lip trembling uncontrollably, the toddler shook his head, refusing to answer. The man gave him a warm, caring smile and tried again. "Come on, you can tell me anything."_

"… he just seemed like the kind of person I could tell everything to."

Ace was watching him curiously, silent for now. Edan was more than thankful for that, it was tough enough to make it convincing without him interrupting him, or increasing the heat around them.

"Eventually… to break the silence, I asked... mostly rhetorically…"

_"Did Gol D Roger have a son?"_

"… what if _Gold Roger_ had a son? Suddenly, he perks up and says 'he does! My brother!' It wasn't until a moment later that he realized what he had said."

_"You know how we met your great-grandfather? He comes one day, kicks the crap out of Luffy and reveals that his dad- your grandfather- is the most wanted criminal in the world! And after he realized what he had told us and a bunch of marines he had brought with him, he has the nerve to ask us to just 'forget about it'."_

"And when he realized that it was supposed to be a secret, he actually told me to just forget about it, like it never happened," Edan chuckled lightly. "And I _did_," he was quick to add. "It wasn't until you mentioned your brother that first night that I realized it was you."

Hesitantly, he turned to the other man to study his reaction. Ace was frowning, thinking intensely but the fireball that was still burning next to them was starting to fade. A hint of hope was starting to take over and the boy decided to give one last push. "Come on, it wasn't his fault. He didn't even tell me your name and considering how proud of you he was, that's an accomplishment on its own. He was probably just trying to make me feel better, I was quite miserable. Give him a free pass. I never told anyone and neither did Luffy again."

A long, hard look made the kid freeze for a moment, before Ace finally rolled his eyes and let it go. "Fine. I won't kill him. Or you. But I'm kicking that idiot's ass next time I see him."

Edan sighed both in relief and surrender. _Well, I tried. Sorry, dad._

* * *

"We had a deal!"

"Shut up, kid!"

"You said you were going to do it!"

"I say a lot of things!"

"You're an idiot."

"SHUT UP!"

Thatch couldn't suppress a chuckle as he watched Edan chase Ace around the deck, both of them clearly annoyed about something. At some point, his curiosity got the better of him and stopped the boy in his quest for… something. While the raven-haired man found his chance to run away, an annoyed look was all Thatch got for his troubles. "What happened?" he quietly laughed. "I thought the argument was going to be over today."

"It is over. Now we're fighting about a different thing," the kid admitted with a scowl.

The blond man looked away, biting hard on his lip to stop the laughter from being released. "Uh-uh. That makes sense. Whose idea was it exactly to put you two in the same division?"

A groan left the young boy at the memory. As if his mood wasn't bad enough without the thought of Teach coming up. Thankfully, for as long as he had stayed on the ship he didn't have any interactions with him and he sure as hell wasn't planning to. Unless kicking his ass was an option. Hey, about that…

"So what happened with Ace?"

Ace! Right! Ace! Where did that idiot go? "Ace!" he yelled and went after him again.

"Oh, we're going to have some serious fun with those two…"

* * *

"Leave me _alone_, Edan!" Ace growled.

"You promised!"

"I never promised a thing!"

Edan felt like hitting the man on his big stubborn head. "For heaven's sake, Ace! Go talk to your captain!"

"What is it to you?" he asked incredulously, pausing to turn and look at him.

"Well for one thing this was the only reason I told you anything! And plus, I can't see you struggling like this! It's ridiculous! It's not as big a deal as you think!" Ace opened his mouth to yell something in anger, but was immediately interrupted. "And don't you _dare_ say I don't understand!"

The glare he was given could burn a hole on him, yet he managed to ignore it completely. "Think about it! Think about how great it would be if you told him and he was ok with it!"

"And if he isn't?" The man challenged through gritted teeth.

The kid frowned, looking at him with a hint of disappointment. "Do you honestly believe that?" With a shake of his head, he gave up and walked away. "Do whatever you want then."

Ace rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Smooth talking brat."

* * *

"So… now _you're _the one refusing to talk to Ace?" Marco asked after noticing Ace going to eat somewhere else again and Edan's absolute refusal to do anything about it.

"Affirmative."

It was dinnertime by then and the two Ds hadn't spoken to each other ever since their little dispute that morning. Ace didn't want to hear his oh so valuable life lessons again, while Edan was simply pissed at the man's behavior.

"Come on, Edan," Thatch entered the conversation. "Ace is stubborn, everyone knows that."

"No," he shook his head angrily. "There's being stubborn… and then there's what he's doing."

Marco gave an amused smirk before trying yet again to fix it, even though he wasn't exactly sure why he bothered in the first place. "And how long are you planning to keep this up?"

"Until he listens to me… Or apologizes. I wouldn't mind him doing both either."

The other commander snorted. "Edan, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you're _fourteen_. Ace will never admit defeat to you."

He was just about to reply when Jozu walked over, his eyes glued on him "Hey, kid. Oyaji wants to talk to you after dinner." He frowned in confusion, working out the different scenarios in his head. What did Whitebeard want?

"Thanks, Jozu," he nodded and turned to the other two pirates. "What do you think he wants?"

Thatch shrugged, not seeming too worried about the whole thing. "Most likely he wants to ask you about what you want to do." Marco nodded in agreement next to him and Edan felt his heart drop. Just when he thought he was done with the awkward conversations…

* * *

The figure leaning against the railing surprised the teen and curiously he approached while trying not to make too much noise. Ace was staring up at the stars sparkling in the night sky, a peaceful yet thoughtful look on his young face.

He couldn't be thinking about it, could he?

* * *

As it turned out, Edan had the second watch that night so he had to spend the next quarter of an hour listening to the basics of what he had to do from another crewmember. Never mind the fact that he already knew what keeping watch entailed. No, he had to remember it all perfectly. Honestly, did nobody trust him on that ship?

The first thing to notice as he got down from the crow's nest was the absence of Ace by the railing of the ship. Assuming he had gone to bed, he headed to Whitebeard's room for that dreaded conversation. Yet he was surprised to hear voices already coming from the inside. One of which belonged to his very own uncle.

Whitebeard's trademark laughter was heard and Edan let his curiosity take control. Ignoring all feelings of guilt at eavesdropping, he leaned closer to the closed door.

_"Really? What a surprise! So that's how it is?" _the old man said from the other side. What was? What had happened? _"You don't really act like Roger, though."_

The kid froze on the spot, his mind refusing to believe what his ears were telling him. Ace… had… told him?

_"Weren't you two enemies? Aren't you going to kick me out?"_ Ace's voice came and Edan couldn't resist an eye roll. Really, how stuck could a person be?

_"When you said you had something important to talk about, I thought it would be bigger than this… It doesn't matter who your parents were. Everyone is a child of the sea." _The man's loud laughter matched the grin on Edan's face. Now_ that_ was a true pirate. If only more people were like him in his time.

Ace let out a barely audible laugh at the words. Even so, Edan could clearly hear the relief in his voice. And no matter what Ace said, he could definitely understand it. This. _This_ was the first time the man had been accepted by someone other than his brother. By a man who had met Roger no less. _"In that case… I accept the position of the Second Division Commander. If you're still willing to give it to me, that is."_

_"YES! YES!" _Edan mouthed, thrusting his hand up in the air, the feeling of success too great to contain. "He did it," he whispered, relief flooding his words. "He actually did it."

* * *

A/N: Go Ace! Hm, does that mean we're reaching the tipping point? Maybe. Anyway, this was a little different, so please let me know what you think :)  
By the way, can anyone guess who were the two people in those conversations in italics during the first scene?


	11. Chapter 11: Celebration

A/N: Well, technically it is Monday in my side of the world. 3 am to be exact. Thought I'd update a little early. By the way, _wow_ this chapter is 2k words long!

Kudos to _dreamerall_ and _mad100141_ for getting the first character on the last chapter to be Robin and to _Velonica_ and _SkittlestheUnicorn_ for guessing Nami to be the one with Garp!

That said, on with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Celebration**

The night shift wasn't so bad after all. He didn't feel like sleeping anyway. If he was to be completely honest with himself, he was a little homesick. The relief of seeing Ace finally being accepted like that, combined with the beyond stressful conversation that followed… it left a funny feeling in his gut and he couldn't decide whether it was positive or negative quite yet. Logically speaking, homesickness should explain everything. But he had reached a point where he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to go home… Things were easier here, in a way. Ace's stubbornness he could deal with, if it meant not running away all the time, not dealing with any of the crap the world threw his way. And the people here had let him in. It really wouldn't be so bad to stay for a while longer.

There was just one little problem…

Blackbeard.

Sooner or later he was going to make his move and screw everything up. And he couldn't do a single thing to stop it! Yes, he knew that at some point he was going to betray them and kill Thatch, but what the Marco from his time had neglected to mention was _why_. So, how could he warn him? It wasn't as if he could just go to Thatch and tell him _Watch out, Teach's going to kill you_!

A stab of pain hit him hard on the chest at the idea of Thatch dying so meaninglessly. Betrayed by his own comrade like that. Teach was such a bastard. Surely, there was a way to discreetly kick that traitor's ass, wasn't there?

Then again, that wasn't the only thing he needed to worry about. The conversation with Whitebeard didn't go so smoothly either.

After wrapping the small blanket provided tighter around his shoulders, Edan stared out the large window and thought about what had happened merely a few hours ago…

* * *

_He walked in just as Ace was leaving. Not expecting to see him there, the man gave him a surprised look. Whitebeard, who was resting against his bed's headboard motioned for him to take a seat next to him, but Edan was careful to keep a safe distance. Even so, the boy couldn't help but marvel at how unbelievably large the older man was. He seemed even more gigantic up close like this._

_"You asked to see me, sir?" he asked with a small bow of the head._

_"I did," the other man said, before letting out a laugh. "Don't look so worried, kid! I'm not going to kill you."_

_"Well, that's always good to know." A light chuckle escaped the boy's lip and he turned to him with genuine curiosity in his eyes. "Why did you call me, sir?"_

_"Kid, you've been with us for a while now. I need to know what you're planning to do."_

_ Edan shrunk under the man's intense stare, even if there was no hostility there. He couldn't possibly lie to this man. Yet he couldn't tell him the truth either. "If you need me to leave, I wouldn't mind at the next port we…"_

_"Nonsense," he interrupted, taking a chug of his drink. When he noticed Edan staring at him, he gave him a large smirk. "Don't tell the nurses, will you?" Laughter echoed in the room for a moment, but soon they had to return to the matter at hand. "There's something different about you, kid. You're obviously hiding something, including your surname. I respect your need for privacy, as long as it doesn't bring any harm to my sons."_

_ The kid's eyes widened in shock at the implication of his words and was quick to reassure him. "No, no, it won't!" Until he realized he couldn't make any guarantees, considering he had no idea how he had ended up there. "At least I don't think it will." _

_"You were listening before when I was talking with Ace, weren't you?"_

_ A sheepish grin appeared on his young face. "Perhaps…"_

_"Knowing how Ace is and the fact that you two have been fighting endlessly since you came here, I have a feeling you played a part in his decision tonight."_

_ The smile faded, only to be replaced by a confused frown. Where was he going with this?_

_"Now, why did you encourage Ace to do something like this when you don't really trust me?"_

_"I do trust you, sir," the kid muttered, shamefully turning his eyes to his lap. "It's just… my situation… It's complicated."_

_"I've seen a lot of things, kid. I doubt it's bad as you think it is."_

_ Edan snorted, ignoring how rude that was. "Wanna bet?"_

_"Try me." Whitebeard immediately accepted the challenge, his signature laugh filling the room once more._

_"Alright," he exhaled loudly, trying not to think too much about what he was about to do. Deep down, he _needed_ someone to tell him it was going to be ok, it was all going to work out. He needed to know he wouldn't carry this burden alone. "I come from the future. About twenty years or so, from the era that followed the _second_ Pirate King's death. How's that for complicated?"_

_ Whitebeard stared at him for barely a second before laughing more quietly this time. "I knew you were a special one. There's more to that story, isn't it?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Isn't there some sort of reason you're always sticking so close to Ace even if you fight all the time?"_

_"Oh... that." He had hoped he wouldn't need to reveal everything, but in a way the damage was already done, so what difference would it make? "I'm also Ace's future nephew."_

_"Alright, kid. Now you have the right to call this complicated."_

_"Thanks so very much."_

* * *

Ok, perhaps he really needed to get out of there.

"So you're Ace's nephew, huh? Who would've thought?" A voice laughed from behind him. With a startled yelp, Edan turned around instantly to find the grinning face of none other than the 12th division commander.

"Haruta…? What-how? WHAT?"

The woman just laughed, enjoying his speechless reaction, while Edan finally decided to try to find out how he had got there in the first place. He had screwed up the past enough already.

* * *

"How did you find out?" Edan exclaimed incredulously and rounded on the woman. "You were eavesdropping? That was private!"

"Weren't you eavesdropping on Oyaji and Ace's conversation?" She shrugged, not even a little guilty.

"And how do you know that? You weren't there!"

Her _are-you-entirely-stupid _look should have been enough of an answer really. "I heard your conversation, idiot. Seriously? How exactly did you manage to keep lying to Ace like that?"

His expression twisted into a scowl at her comment, his eyes narrowing a little. "I think I like you better in my time, Haruta." But then he realized how easily it had left his mouth and how damn good it felt to be able to say it out loud like that. Slowly, a small smile showed, one that had the woman confused. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"Oh… so you didn't want anyone to know…?" She chuckled awkwardly, an action that almost gave the kid a heart attack.

"WHO DID YOU TELL?!" He yelled in terror, eyes three times their original size.

"Well… There's Marco, Thatch, Jozu, Izou… and… Namur…"

"Let me rephrase that then. Who _doesn't_ know?" He all but growled, glaring at her heatedly.

"Ace," she shrugged. He waited for her to continue, only to figure out she wouldn't.

After carefully keeping his panic under control, he nodded slowly, failing to notice how she was studying his reaction. Ever so calmly, he walked over and took a peek below, carefully judging the ocean's look. "Ok, then."

"Edan?" Haruta raised an eyebrow curiously.

"I need to get off this ship. How close are we to shore? I should be able to swim that far, right?"

The seriousness in his voice had her bursting out laughing. The glare she received for it only increased the sheer intensity of it. "Edan, Edan! Calm down! I'm kidding. Only _I_ know. It's your secret to keep, I get it."

"My secret to keep and yet you eavesdropped on the conversation?"

Quickly she waved it off. "Details."

"And that wasn't funny," he sighed in relief. It was hard enough to let Whitebeard in on this, let alone the entire crew.

"Why not? I told you Ace didn't know, so you were safe." She frowned at yet another glare. "Don't I joke in your time?"

Caught off guard by the question, Edan tried to recall Haruta's behavior the last time he had seen her. "Oh yeah. You do. But not with me."

"Why?"

"Because last time I saw you, I was around ten-years-old, an age in which apparently my- and I'm quoting- 'laughter was cuter than my scowl'. So you messed with others and let me watch."

She laughed lightheartedly at the new info, glad she was just the same in the future. "It would have been fun to see you as a ten-year-old."

"You will," he smiled brightly at her, remembering how much he liked that woman. Surprisingly enough though, her own happy expression faltered, a certain darkness taking over. "Haruta?" he called, voice laced with a hint of worry.

"Edan… I want to talk to you about something." She struggled with it for a moment, before shaking her head and turning back to him with a forced smile on her face. "But it can wait. We've got a big day tomorrow, with Ace's promotion and all. Your shift should be over soon, I should probably go as well."

She went back down to the deck immediately, without giving the boy a chance to stop her. The only thing he could do was stare dumbfounded at the place where she was laughing just moments ago. What the…?

* * *

"And now, Ace is officially the Second Division Commander!"

The whole crew was gathered on the deck in full on celebration mode, ready to accept their new commander. Ace was placed in the middle, staring in astonishment at the lengths the crew had gone for him. Even so, the cheerful atmosphere was certainly a welcome change from the tension of the last few days between him and the newbie kid.

Speaking of, Edan was standing a little further back from the rest, watching everything with a wide grin. As he wasn't a Whitebeard pirate, it felt wrong for him to be a part of their celebration, so he resorted to sitting on the railing directly behind Ace, watching as he devoured his food, before a narcolepsy attack suddenly hit.

The boy was absolutely ecstatic to see the fire user so happy and carefree, finally accepted by his family as he deserved to be. And he was more than content to sit on the sidelines and watch quietly, but at some point switching his attention to Stefan, when Whitebeard's little dog came over to him. He had been ignoring him for as long as he had been on the ship but after coming to his owner's room the night before, he had somehow taken a liking to the kid.

He was gently stroking Stefan's white fur, when Marco approached him.

"You're not joining us, yoi?"

Edan looked up from his crouched position, the smile never leaving his face. "I'm good here, thanks. Besides, this is kind of a crew thing."

Marco didn't seem too phased by his reply and shrugged instead. "You might become a crewmember one day. I mean, Ace didn't want to join in the beginning either."

No response was given, as the boy turned back to the pet. _I wish I could, Marco. I really do_. How easy would it be… to just stay here and be a part of this crew, this family?

Somebody called the phoenix away and with the promise to be back soon he went to see what was up. It wasn't long until he was replaced, though, by the new commander no less. "Ace?"

"What you're not even going to say 'I told you so'?" Ace smirked at him, taking a seat at the railing behind the boy. "Why aren't you joining us?"

"I'll just eat all your food," he shrugged nonchalantly. "And then you'll be pissed at me. _Again_."

The man laughed at that and Edan noticed how different it sounded from before. More carefree, more real. Maybe things were really starting to brighten up. This was just probably the calm before the storm, but a moment of peace was definitely needed if he was to think of a way out of this. Yeah, he could deal with some peace.

But not even a week later, the newspaper was delivered…

* * *

A/N: I was trying to remember which character I _really_ wanted to introduce in this story, until I realized it was none other than Stefan, who I find completely adorable, mustache and all. If anyone (and especially Whitebeard) is out of character, I do apologize. It happens. Especially with those who haven't stayed in the series nearly as long as they should (which is basically _every_ Whitebeard Pirate). Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. There's going to be my possibly favorite flashback in it! Till next time! x


	12. Chapter 12: Brother Complex

**Chapter 12: Brother Complex**

The fourteen-year-old would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the new sleeping arrangements that came with Ace having his own room. Lack of sleep always made him somewhat cranky and in hindsight that may have been the reason they were fighting so much. Though, considering he was merely a guest here, he didn't get much say in the matter. So good job, Ace, for getting that promotion.

During the day apparently Edan's prediction had been right and things had been as calm as they could be. A few fights here and there, that he had not been invited to take part in (much to his annoyance), but nothing too troublesome. Ace himself was his usual self, despite the extra responsibilities, if not a little more excited about things. Even so, the events of the day were something none of them had ever expected…

* * *

It was right after lunch that the news coo was heard in the distance. Not many people paid it much notice, but Marco decided to see what was going on in the world and thus called it over. Edan was also curious to see what was currently happening in this time, so he agreed with the phoenix to give it to him once he was done.

However that day he wouldn't need the paper to learn the news. The whole ship was going to find out soon enough. It all started when the first division commander adopted a surprised expression and called Ace over.

"Say… Ace… what was your brother's full name again, yoi?"

Slowly, Edan approached them as well, instantly interested at the mention of his father. What was in that paper?

"Luffy's full name?" asked Ace, perplexed. "Monkey D. Luffy. Why?"

Marco nodded slowly and pulled out a piece of paper from the newspaper. The kid's blue eyes widened in shock. _No way_. A bounty poster? The phoenix turned it around to show Ace and a jolly, grinning face greeted them.

_Wanted Dead or Alive. Monkey D Luffy. 30.000.000 Beli. _

"Thirty million Beli?" Edan gasped. For a first bounty? That was awesome. And the photo… So happy and bright and carefree. He was young here, so young. The world hadn't haunted his eyes yet. Even when he was joyful, Edan remembered him quite different. And he couldn't decide whether to be happy about that or not.

He didn't have much time to think about it though, as Ace abruptly grabbed the poster to take a better look at it. His eyes widening so much they looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets, he let out a surprised, booming laugh that echoed around the deck.

"Oh! OH! _OH!_ LUFFY! That's _Luffy!_" He exclaimed, practically glowing from excitement. "30 million? What the hell did that idiot do?!"

"Apparently…" Marco read from the newspaper, slightly amused by the man's reaction. "… he defeated all the big shots of the East Blue. Captain Krieg, Arlong of the Fishman Pirates… Looks like your kid brother's been raising hell, yoi."

"Let me see!" Edan rudely tore the paper away from the commander's hand, unable to contain himself, eager as he was to see what achievements his dad had made in this time. But his eyes widened incredibly at the implication of what he was reading. Oh shit, was he really _that_ far back? Dad's first bounty poster. Seventeen years old. Seeing him smile in the photo sent a warm feeling through his heart. This kid was going to be the King of Pirates one day. Really, who would've guessed all the way back then?

And if the photo wasn't enough to make him a little giddy, Ace's reaction was enough to give him a laughing fit. He was rambling like an idiot, grinning and chuckling with a radiant pride in his eyes. The entire crew had gathered around them by now, not so much to learn the news of Luffy's bounty as to see why Ace had gotten drunk so early in the morning, only to realize he wasn't even intoxicated.

"Hey! Hey, Edan!" Ace called, trotting over to him. "Look, it's Luffy! Can you believe it?"

The boy decided to be completely honest with him. "I have more trouble believing that _this_ is happening rather than the actual poster," he chuckled loudly. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Haruta eyeing him with a knowing smile on her face that he promptly ignored. However, this was Luffy they were talking about and therefore the boy couldn't restrain himself yet again. "But let me see!"

"Is there another copy of it?" Ace asked Marco as he handed the poster over to Edan. His face fell though, when his reply was a shake of the head.

"What do you want with it?" Thatch joined the conversation, after deciding that watching Ace like this was way fun and he had to be a part of it.

"I'm going to hang it!" He stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Even Edan was shocked to hear that one and joined in the collective _what?_ that echoed around the deck. Ace could ramble on and _on_ about Luffy but this kind of brother complex was beyond their imagination. And excellent blackmailing material.

Seeing how proud and excited the man was, as if his brother's bounty was some sort of award, Thatch decided to mess with him a bit. "You understand what this bounty means, don't you Ace?"

The rest of the crewmembers gathered there turned to him, curious to see where the commander was going with it. Even Edan switched his attention to the other man, sensing the mischief in the air. Ace for his part, looked clueless, way too high up on his cloud to notice what was happening.

"That Luffy kicked ass?"

"Apart from that, I mean."

He was finally starting to get it, eyes narrowing with suspicion at him. "What _do_ you mean?"

"Luffy. Cute, little Luffy has a _bounty_ now. He's a wanted man. So, you better hope he's strong enough because with 30 million on his head in East Blue of all places, he's going to have the marines chasing him with a vengeance." He exhaled with fake concern before adding, "Better hope he's alright."

The entirety of the Whitebeard Pirates, including their guest, were desperately trying to stifle their laughter at the paleness slowly spreading on the fire user's face. Expressions switched rapidly, from calmness to suspicion to waving it off to absolute horror. "Oh, shit. Oh, no. What did that idiot do?" He muttered to himself, failing to notice Thatch's smirk spreading. However none of them expected he would take it quite that far…

"Shit, I need to go find him," he announced and ran off to who knows where.

"Wait- what?" Thatch burst out laughing, staring at the direction his fellow commander had disappeared to.

"I should go make sure he doesn't get off the ship," Edan said between chuckles and headed to the man's room, Marco and Thatch trailing behind him. Considering the situation, Haruta couldn't help but join them as well.

The boy soon caught up with Ace, before he had a chance to actually go pack. "Ace, Ace! Hang on a second! What are you doing?"

"You've met Luffy, Edan! He's a trouble magnet! He's going to get himself killed!"

Edan was honestly touched by how protective he was of his brother but the situation was getting beyond ridiculous. "_Ace_! Luffy wants to become the pirate king! He can handle a 30 million bounty!"

"Edan, you don't understand…"

"Are you sure that_ I'm _the one who doesn't understand? Have some faith in him. I doubt he'd want you to come and save his ass. Think of it this way, for him to get such a bounty in such a short time he must be pretty darn strong."

Ace calmed down for a second, eyeing the piece of paper in the younger's hands carefully. He came closer to the kid and took another peak at the poster. "That fool… Look at the damn photo! He's grinning like a loon!" There was clear fondness in his voice and Ace's smile was so contagious at the moment that Edan let his own grin spread bright and wide. That may have not been the smartest thing to do at the time.

"Wait…" Thatch murmured and ran over to the two, taking the poster and studying it.

"What is it, yoi?" Marco asked from behind him.

He turned to Edan thoughtfully. "Keep smiling."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Edan played along, keeping the grin on his face, despite the awkward situation. Haruta fought back a laugh as she figured out what was going on. Thatch carefully held the poster next to the boy's face, an amused smirk on his face. "Well, I'll be damned. Close your eyes, Edan."

"Thatch-" The boy tried to protest, finally catching up to what was happening.

"Do it."

"But-"

"_Do it!_"

Not exactly sure why he was complying in the first place, Edan widened his smile, so much that his eyes closed and adopted the expression he _knew_ his dad wore on that poster. How did he screw things up yet again?

"What… the… hell?" The second and fourth division commanders wondered simultaneously. In addition, a barely heard _uh-oh_ was heard from Haruta who was having the time of her life with this.

"_CanIstopsmilingnow_?" Edan said through clenched teeth, trying to hide his anxiety with the cheerful face.

Ace shook his head, finally realizing why he was trusting the kid so much. It was a subconscious thing. The boy reminded him of Luffy! Whether he realized it or not. "That's… weird," he muttered, staring confusedly at Edan, who had now stopped smiling and was rubbing his cheeks instead. Well, at least _he_ wasn't made of rubber. "Are you and Luffy… like… related? Is that why you won't tell us your surname?"

Edan's breath hitched in his throat at the question. _Say it. Say it now. Now's your chance. He may believe you_. "I…" Haruta was staring at him expectantly next to them, curious about how he was going to dig himself out of this hole. "I don't think so. Maybe distantly." With a sigh, the woman went to leave, not before leaning into his ear and whispering _chicken_. A little accusingly too.

She wasn't wrong. What a wuss he was.

* * *

A/N: Man, I was so tempted to have him tell the truth. But for plot purposes I had to leave that for later. Sorry, I know there's many of you who have been waiting for that. Anyway, that's all for now. See ya next time! ;)


	13. Chapter 13: Too Heavy

A/N: Ugh, I'm tired. But I have two weeks to finish this story and it's Not. Enough. Hope this didn't end up too weird. I think it's weird. Is it weird? I'll shut up now. At least we get a flashback.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Too Heavy**

"You should have told him!"

"Uh-uh."

"_Uh-huh_? That's your brilliant reply?"

"I'm sorry, Haruta, but after the millionth time you say the exact same thing, I really don't care anymore," Edan muttered, not even looking up from the map he was checking. After seeing the newspaper and the timeline he was currently in, he felt the need to find out exactly _where_ he was, in addition to the _when_. Though he really should make a note to thank Nami next time he sees her for his limited yet existing map reading skills.

"Edan…"

"I know, ok? I know," he sighed, putting the map aside and turning to her. "It was a great opportunity. He had it mostly figured it out. I just…"

"Chickened out," she supplied for him with derisive look.

"Pretty much. I just don't want to screw this up. I can't have him be mad at me again."

She took a seat next to him, looking a bit worried. It was a little before dinner after the news of Luffy's bounty and the two were hanging around in the library mostly for privacy and quiet, having borrowed a map from the navigator. Well, Edan was there for privacy and quiet. Haruta was just there to ruin the whole purpose of it.

"You will screw this up again. It's not a secret you can keep forever. Your lies are full of plot holes. Better tell him now before something else goes wrong and he's too angry with you to listen."

"Well, I can't tell him _now_."

"Sure you can."

The kid didn't get much of a chance to reply as the door opened for Ace to come in, looking a little awkward. Any retort Edan had instantly died in his throat. Under the table, safe from the man's sight, Haruta promptly kicked him, silently and quite painfully signaling him to start talking. Naturally, she was ignored.

"Hey, Edan. I think I must have left something back in the room. I'm just going to take a look at your stuff, ok?"

"What stuff?" the kid laughed. "If there's anything there, it's yours."

Ace frowned, thinking about it for a second. "Ok, then. Even better."

"Did you really just come here for that?" Haruta asked, clearly suspicious.

A completely fake angelic smile showed on the man's face. "Of course, what else would I want? Oh, then again…" he added, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I did want to see if you were doing anything nasty with him, you pedophile."

With that he bolted out of the room, narrowly avoiding a book thrown his way.

"_ACE!_" At the sound of Edan's laughter, she calmed down slightly, not without giving him a deadly glare. "_Anyway_. Shouldn't you be more careful? Should Ace really be looking around your things?"

The boy shrugged, going to repeat what he had said moments before. "I don't have any-…" That wasn't entirely true, was it? "_Shit. _Oh, no."

"Edan?"

Edan clumsily got up from his chair and ran maniacally outside. "_ACE!_"

With a deep sigh, Haruta muttered to herself, "I told him he'd screw it up."

* * *

It was as if the universe didn't want him to catch up to Ace. Or at least the crew didn't. Two times was he stopped on his way to the room and thus by the time the man had made it there, Edan was only halfway and in the middle of waving Thatch off, not even bothering to listen to what he was trying to tell him.

"Look, Thatch, I'm sorry… But if I don't leave right now, I'm probably going to die," Edan said, frantically trying to push his way around the man.

Thatch looked him over worriedly, trying to understand what was wrong. "Why are you going to d-…"

"_EDAN!_" The answer to his question came before Thatch had a chance to finish it.

"Shit…" The boy muttered, eyes closed in defeat. This was the day he was going to die. "Hide me," he pleaded, turning to the man.

"What happened?"

Ace stormed in at that point, flames spread on his shoulders, but not as burning as the glare he gave the young teen, who had frozen on the spot, more terrified than anyone had ever seen him. On his hand was a battered, old straw hat, held in a white-knuckled grip.

Seeing the man's fury, Thatch pushed the boy protectively behind him. "Ace, calm down. You're going to hurt someone."

"IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS, YOU BET I AM!" He yelled enraged, never pausing on his way to the boy. "THINK FAST, EDAN!"

Members of the crew who had warmed up to the kid were heading their way to make sure Ace didn't do anything stupid. Stupider than usual anyway. Ace hadn't been this murderous since he had tried to kill Oyaji and even then he was a calm kind of deadly.

Although Edan was truly grateful for their concern, he truly needed to keep everyone out of this. It was hard enough to lie without all those eyes on him. Then again he wasn't sure how he could possibly lie his way out of this one. But what was he supposed to do? Ace would never believe him in this state of mind. Haruta was right. And he was absolutely screwed.

"Thatch, maybe… maybe you should stay out of this…" He muttered, anxiety evident in his shaky voice.

"Are you kidding? He's going to kill you! What did you do to him?"

Instead of a reply he pushed himself away from Thatch and right into the path of the fire user, determined to get this over with. "Ace! Ace! Calm down, will you? What's the matter?"

"Where did you get this, Edan?" Ace growled, showing him the straw hat on his hand.

"That…"

"That is _Luffy's_ hat, Edan. How did you get it?"

The boy wavered uncertainly, long enough for Ace to grab his shirt in a death grip. "Start talking."

"It's not the same hat…" he offered desperately, the heat from where the man was holding him becoming more and more unbearable by the second.

"Bullshit! You think I wouldn't recognize it?"

"Ace-"

"Luffy would _never_ give his hat to anyone! He barely let me touch it! _How_ did you get it?" Edan had heard about Ace's protectiveness again and again but he never imagined it would come to this. In his mind, the only way he could have gotten that hat was by force and he would never _ever_ allow anyone to harm his brother and not pay for it.

Haruta ran to the boy's rescue, one of the few who knew exactly what was going on and could at least try to convincingly lie the kid's way through it. "Ace! Don't be an idiot! This can't be the same hat. Look at how old it is!"

"She's… right," Edan quickly agreed, starting to pant from the heat. "It's not the same hat, Ace. Please... stop."

Ace was still glaring at them, but he seemed slightly uncertain, after studying the hat a little more carefully. "Then why did you_ hide_ it?"

_Oh, please. Please let him believe this._ _I survived too much crap to die like this. _"Because I _knew_ you'd react this way! They're… ridiculously similar. Ace… please… stop."

"_Enough_." A different voice entered the argument; an argument soon to be over by the sound of it.

The whole deck froze at the sound of their captain's voice. Whitebeard had gotten up from his usual seat and had come to put an end to this. "Ace, let the kid go."

"Oyaji-"

"Your brother's poster came in today, didn't it?"

Ace paused, confused about where he was going with it. "Yeah…"

"So it must be fairly recent. Wasn't he wearing the hat in the photo?" The fire slowly went off on the man's hand and Edan found himself breathing normally once again. "Edan has been with us for a while now. It can't be the same hat."

The boy felt like crying with relief as Haruta gently pulled him away from Ace, who was honestly starting to look a bit guilty. He eyed the spot where he had been holding the boy thoughtfully. "I guess I'm going to have to lend you another shirt… Sorry. You hurt?"

Following a reassurance from the kid that he was, in fact, ok, Thatch suggested they all head to the dining hall for dinner and forget all about this. All too willingly they agreed, eager to leave this behind, or more accurately just go eat. However, Edan stayed a little longer, waiting for all of them to go, before turning to Whitebeard.

"Sir… Thank you so much…" he said with a slight bow. "Why…?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell, kid."

Haruta put an arm around his shoulders with a smile. "Plus knowing Ace, he would have killed you, no questions asked. That idiot and his brother complex. Come on, let's go eat."

Edan didn't need to be told twice. On his way there, he let himself remember how he had originally got hold of the hat. It was a week or two before his father died…

* * *

_ At almost four years old, the young raven haired child was quite the trouble maker. It was as if the news of his birthday brought an unlimited amount of energy with it. In hindsight, maybe he was just trying to make use of all the excitement he wouldn't be able to feel in a few weeks time._

_ So when one day Luffy couldn't find his precious straw hat, he should have figured his mischievous son had something to do with it. Following the sound of childish giggles, he found himself in the kitchen of the house, his eyes greeted with an amusing sight._

_ Edan was standing on the countertop, hands on his hips, sporting a stance of pride. The Monkey D trademark wide grin was worn by the kid, along with a familiar straw hat, at least three sizes to big on him. "Yosh!" The boy yelled, his pose never faltering. "I've decided! I'm going to be the King of Pirates!"_

_ Luffy returned the grin to the boy, finding the same determination in those bright blue eyes, that Shanks had once seen in his. However, something just _had _to ruin the moment._

_ The hat being as large as it was, couldn't possibly stay on the child's small head for long. Instead it fell forward, obscuring his vision entirely. Edan let out a small yelp, panicking and flailing his arms in surprise. So much so that he somehow managed to lose his balance and fall of the counter._

_ His father was quick to act, stretching his arms to his son's direction and catching the child before he could get hurt. He brought him close to his chest, grip tightening with care. "Are you alright?" he chuckled, the 'you idiot' at the end of the question implied._

_ With an awkward laugh, the kid used on hand to push the hat off his face, while grabbing his dad's arm with the other for extra protection. "Whoops…" he smiled with embarrassment, cheeks burning bright red. "Hat's too big."_

_ To the boy's surprise, a thoughtful, for once serious look crossed his father's face for just a second. "It's too… _heavy_ for you…" Luffy muttered and Edan got the feeling he meant something entirely different than the size of it. Even so, soon enough a soft smile graced the man's lips as he looked at his son lovingly. "But I think you can do it anyway."_

_"Dad…?" The kid asked hesitantly, confused by this behavior._

_ Instead of being given an answer, he was simply placed back on the ground. _

_"Come on. Let's go find your mother."_

_"Wait," he called, feeling the straw with his little fingers. "What about your hat?"_

_ A joyful expression was adopted by Luffy when he turned to face him. "Keep it."_

_"B-but… it's your hat!" Edan exclaimed, eyes wide in shock._

_"Don't want it?"_

_"N-no, I do."_

_"Then keep it. I don't need it anymore."_

_ Thinking about it now, Edan realized he really should have asked him what he meant by that. Even if he wouldn't have like the answer._

* * *

A/N: That's it. I give up. I'm out.


	14. Chapter 14: Trip To Town

A/N: This is a little short, but I needed to get it down. In addition, from now on chapters will be posted not based on their lengths but content. So some chapters might be short while others way longer than usual.

Big thanks to Dreamerall for the waffle! I find it adorable when people give me internet waffles.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Trip To Town**

A couple of days later, Edan almost kissed the ground underneath his feet when they finally docked. He hadn't touched ground since… twenty years in the future. The island itself was quite plain, especially for Grand Line standards. A summer island, whose only interesting feature was the abnormal height of its palm trees that casted shadows in almost every corner. But even that was quite pleasant, considering it limited the intensity of the heat.

The boy was particularly enjoying himself as he finally had a chance to stock on much needed things, like clothes, towels, utilities and of course a little snack as well. After declining any offers for company, he set off on his own to explore the place with the promise to be back at the dock exactly three hours later. However an hour before the meeting time, he found Ace sitting at a restaurant, devouring every plate in front of him.

With the assumption that his uncle wouldn't kick his ass, as he was still a bit guilty from the straw hat incident, Edan made his way over there and sat down next to him. The man nodded at him in acknowledgement and only started talking when he noticed the boy was eating his food.

"Hey, slow down there, you freeloader. Didn't you eat anything?"

"I did," he admitted.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Eating some more."

Ace shook his head in amusement, eyeing the young boy carefully. "Are you sure you and Lu aren't related?"

Sick of this question unknowingly hitting a soft spot and mocking him again and again, Edan decided to play with it a little bit. "Of course we're related. I'm Monkey D. Edan, his son that came from the future just to annoy you." It was quite amusing, how ridiculous it sounded when said with a teasing tone. Not that it would be much more believable if said seriously, but this made it seem beyond impossible.

"That sounds plausible," Ace snorted.

"It would also explain the hat," the kid shrugged, deciding to go a little bit further with it.

Unfortunately, that led to an abrupt change of mood. "About that…" The older guy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I really am sorry about overreacting back then."

A small smile spread on his face. "Don't worry about it. I actually find your protectiveness towards your brother adorable." And it was sweet to know both that his dad had been taken care of at his early years and that his name was well deserved.

"Edan, I've been called a lot of things, I don't think 'adorable' is one of them."

"Not in front you maybe."

After a warning look, they both returned their attentions to the food, which was gulped down with an even more impressive speed under the combined appetite of both D's. And wasn't that a force to be reckoned with?

Since the pair had finished their business and shopping, they didn't have much else to do in their remaining half hour but stroll around the island, looking for something interesting. In the meantime, Ace couldn't possibly deny the boy a story about Luffy, especially as he was asked.

What annoyed Edan the most was how they had to cut the conversation short once they noticed trouble ahead. Neither of them had been informed about a marine base here. So why were marines ahead of them, picking a fight with members of their division no less?

"Ace… aren't they second division?" the kid asked, bringing the situation to the man's attention. "Should we do something?"

Ace narrowed his eyes dangerously at the scene in front of him. "Yeah, they're with us. Well, the marines don't seem particularly strong but we could always give them a hand."

He moved to go to them, but Edan grabbed his arms before he had a chance to leave.

"What? What is it?" The raven-haired man asked, looking him over for anything wrong.

However on the boy's face was an excited grin. "Hey, Ace… Let me do it."

"You want to fight the marines?"

"You have no idea how much."

A smirk played on the fire user's face as he nudged the kid forward. "Go on ahead, then."

* * *

Yes! Yes! That was what he needed! Adrenaline, excitement, freedom. A good-natured fight to help friends, without it being hard enough to risk any of their lives. Those marines weren't particularly strong, odd for an island so far in the Grand Line. Honestly, he was pretty sure most of them could be knocked out by a concentrated wave of Conqueror's Haki, but that would take all the fun out of it. Instead they fought them normally and even then what started out as a match with the marines slightly overpowered became entertainment for the crew and their guest.

Edan let himself go and simply, as he had done so many times in the past two years, hardened the surface of his hand as he prepared to strike. Of all the things taught to him by the Straw Hat crew, learning how to use haki was the most useful of them all. And to be completely honest, the most fun as well.

When the fight was finally over, Edan felt more alive than he had in a long time, practically beaming with excitement. That's not to say he didn't have a few cuts and bruises but nothing even remotely threatening. With flushed cheeks and a bright smile, he turned to face Ace, who was staring at him in surprise.

"What?" the kid asked cheerfully.

"Nothing, I'm just… surprised. You're pretty good."

A few crewmembers from other divisions had gathered and joined the fight too, after hearing the commotion. Between them was the first division commander, now looking at the two with an amused smirk. "Pretty good, indeed. I didn't know you could use haki, yoi."

The boy nodded, a bit more sobered up. "Yeah, it can be used for both fighting and defending and considering my circumstances it was perfect."

With that they headed back to the ship, ending this unexpectedly enjoyable trip. Edan briefly wondered if what had happened on that island would make Ace take his joke a little more seriously. Probably not. But how great would it be if the man just figured out himself?

Sure, tough luck.

* * *

Considering how good the kid had been back then, he had hoped to be included in more of the crew's fights, even if he wasn't a part of it. Apparently, he was wrong and _very_ wrong and it was made crystal clear to him the moment Ace took the second division to help Thatch and didn't so much as consider bringing him along.

Soon enough that would be the least of his worries, though.

When they came back, Thatch was carrying something with him. They all gathered around him as he presented it to them. A bizarre, purple fruit. A Devil Fruit. Nobody, not even Edan, knew just how responsible that thing would be for the chain of events that would follow.

But he knew something was wrong. Because while everyone was staring at Thatch's finding, the boy took a look around. And the moment his eyes reached Teach, a coldness and fear gripped at his heart tightly as they were met with the most plotting, malevolent smile he had seen in his fourteen years. The gleam in the man's eyes told him exactly what he needed to know.

Blackbeard was about to make his move.

* * *

A/N: Uh-uh. Finally. Finally we're getting to the tipping point. Why am I so happy about this? My life is about to get harder.


	15. Chapter 15: The Tipping Point

A/N: I actually liked this chapter. Possibly because I'm a hopeless drama queen who likes to torture characters. Whoops.

Btw, am I the only one who reads Blackbeard's name as Teach-ee, like in the anime? Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 15: The Tipping Point**

"Oh, ain't that a devil fruit?"

"I don't know which fruit it is yet, though."

Edan pushed his way amongst the people gathered to get to the front. Robin had taught him a few things about devil fruits, had showed him some drawings in a book about them as well, but he had never seen one for real and the curiosity was too demanding. Surprisingly, it was more weird than he had imagined. Exactly which part of that was edible? Even with his enormous appetite, he couldn't imagine himself eating that thing.

A choked sound of surprise was heard from behind him, so puzzled as he was, he turned around to see the source of it. Teach was staring at the fruit wide eyes, as if he couldn't quite believe it was right there. A frown appeared on the boy's face, wondering what this guy's problem was. Suddenly the man's expression changed,his wide eyes narrowed and gleamed, an ominous smile spreading dangerously.

The sight froze the young boy, terror and realization gripping at his heart agonizingly, even if the rest of his body had gone strangely numb. This was the moment he had been dreading for so long. This was why Thatch was killed. Because of a stupid devil fruit. And soon everything was going to play out exactly as planned.

With his expression frozen and shocked, he turned back to his friend, who was talking about his finding with Ace. A choked sound left his lips painfully.

"_Thatch…_"

* * *

In a corner of the sleeping quarters, playing with the straw hat between his fingers, Edan wracked his brain to think of a solution to this. Thatch couldn't die. Not like this. Not after everything he had done for him. But changing the past? Was that even a possibility? Running a hand through his mop of black hair, he wished he hadn't been involved in the first place. Sure, meeting Ace had been great, but being given this choice was more than he could handle. What if he ended up making things worse?

But he owed it to Thatch to try.

"Edan? What are you doing over there?"

The boy jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion. Marco was at the door, looking at him confused. "Is something wrong, yoi?"

He passed his head through the hat's string, letting it hang on his back and got up tiredly. "Marco, where's Thatch?"

"Thatch?" The commander repeated, surprised. "I think he went to his room. Still hasn't figured out what to do with that fruit."

"Alright," Edan muttered lifelessly and headed for the door. Before he had a chance to leave, though, Marco put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Hey, hey, Edan. What's the matter, yoi? You look horrible." His eyes widened in shock when he found the boy trembling.

"Marco… If you could change something in the past, would you do it? Even if it would mean risking the future?" His entire frame was shaking along with his voice, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

The phoenix faltered slightly, not sure how to reply to such a sudden question. "Oi, what are you…?"

"Excuse me…" With his head cast down, he made his way out of the room, leaving Marco there, looking at him bewildered.

* * *

Thatch couldn't take it anymore. The whole devil fruit deal was driving him crazy. The curiosity was killing him and the prospect of the power was more than interesting, but was it worth losing the ability to swim? Or the ability to save the rest of those idiotic devil fruit users when _they_ fell in the ocean? Those first days when Ace had been on board the ship and trying to kill Oyaji, he had gotten thrown in the water so often, he had had to take a dive almost daily. Would they be ok if he wasn't capable of doing that anymore?

A knock on his door thankfully brought him back from his thoughts.

"Thatch? Can I talk to you for second?"

It took him a moment to recognize the voice as Edan's, quiet and worried as it was. The kid had never sounded that bad, not even during the time he had been fighting with Ace. Cautiously he told the boy to come in.

His face reflected the tone of his voice. Hesitant and withdrawn, he could barely look him in the eye once he walked in. "Hey…" he murmured with a small smile.

"Hey, Edan. What's up? What's bothering you?" Thatch tried to keep the mood light, yet it was nearly impossible with the kid's attitude.

"How do you know something's bothering me?"

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror, kid?"

Edan didn't even smile at the sarcasm, just nodded compliantly, his lip becoming an alternative for chewing gum. "Right… of course." The man didn't reply to that, but ushered him to continue instead. "Well… uh… have you… thought about what you're going to do… with the devil fruit?"

"Why do you ask? You want it?" he chuckled lightly.

The kid was taken aback by the question, his eyes widening comically. "No. No way." Thatch almost laughed at the horror-stricken look on his face. "But I think you should have it."

"You mean I should eat it?"

"Yeah. And soon. Immediately would work great, in fact."

"Ok, what the hell is wrong with you? What are you talking about?"

Edan started fidgeting, playing with the hem of his shirt awkwardly. "It's just… Look… with devil fruits, many people get greedy. They might come for it."

"Come for it?" Thatch laughed loudly. "Who's going to come for it, Edan? No one but the crew knows. Or do you expect Haruta or Izou to come take it behind my back?" The laughter and absolute trust in his voice made the boy's heart break. He couldn't even fathom the thought of one of his own nakama betraying him.

"Thatch-"

"Edan, Edan! Calm down. Relax. I'll have a decision tomorrow, ok? Happy?" He turned the kid to the door, ushering him out. "Now go to sleep. There's a storm coming, you're not going to get much sleep anyway. Go. Shoo."

* * *

Edan could not sleep. The thunderstorm outside was raging, but it was somehow quieter than his panicked thoughts. He should have told Thatch. It could save his life. How would he ever believe him, though? Oh, screw it. Screw everything. He'll tell the truth. About Blackbeard. About Ace. About him. And he'd better believe him too, because his life depended on it.

Plan decided, he got up and quietly sneaked out of the room, before he had a chance to rethink what he was about to do. The ship was unusually quiet as he made his way to Thatch's bedroom, save for the loud booming of thunder. Perhaps that should have warned him to begin with. However the real fear came when he found the door to the room already open. His breath hitched in his throat at the sight, a terrifying feeling of foreboding creeping up on him, making him start trembling.

He reached out a hand and gently, warily pushed the door open all the way. "T-Thatch…? Are you… in here?" He narrowed his eyes in the darkness, trying to see in front of him as he walked in ever so carefully. "Thatch?" Lightning flashed and lit up the room.

Edan felt his heart stop at the sight.

"T-T-Thatch? _Thatch!_" he screamed in horror, rushing over to his fallen friend. Lying on the wooden floor in front of him was the fourth division commander, a pool forming around him from his very own blood. The kid fell on his knees next to him, hovering uncertainly, not sure what he could do to help at this point. Remembering all he knew about first aid, he hastily took off his shirt and pressed it on the wound to stop the bleeding. It was then that he sensed another presence in the room.

"Come out, Teach," he said through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with suppressed anger and venom.

Blackbeard's loud laughter echoed around the room and the man stepped forward at the boy's request. "How did you know it was me, Edan?"

"You bastard… How could you? _He was your friend_!"

"I needed that devil fruit, kid. I had no choice."

"Did you ever consider _asking_ him for it?" he growled, getting up with a deadly glare directed at the man. "He could have given it to you!"

"Would he? Oh, Thatch was always too nice for his own good."

"YOU BASTARD!" He charged Teach but couldn't get very far. As soon as he was within hitting distance, Blackbeard, showing an amount of strength he hadn't so far, threw him on the opposite wall. Really, he should have guessed it. One of the oldest of the crew, considered for the second division commander position? Edan should have known better. His breath abruptly ripped from his lungs was the price he paid for it, now struggling to breathe on the ground.

The older man went to him and by grabbing him by the shoulder, lifted him up to face him. "You know what your problem is, kid? You think you're such a big shot, when you can hardly protect yourself." His fingers dug into the scar on his arm as those words were said, as if he knew its painful significance. "Take a look around. _This_ is reality. You can't protect anyone. And this won't be the last time this happens."

Suddenly, the boy found himself flying to the other side of the room, crashing into the wooden closet. When he opened his eyes again, Teach was already gone. For a moment, all he could do was stay there, breathing heavily, the harsh words spoken to him echoing around his head, hurtful and suffocating. But the situation soon caught up with him and once again he rushed to Thatch's side, checking him over.

_Too much blood… He's lost too much blood._ "Help…" he croaked out, emotion clogging his voice. "Help! HELP! _SOMEBODY HELP ME!" _

With his hands pressed on his friend's wound, he kept on screaming, praying that somebody, _anybody_ would hear…

"Please! We need help in here!_"_

"Somebody! PLEASE!"

"Please… _Please…"_

* * *

A/N: Blackbeard. Killing people, breaking hearts since... oh I'm not sure when he first appeared on the show. Anyway, not one of my favorite characters, though I have to admit he makes a good bad guy. Who's your favorite One Piece villain?  
That said, see ya next time!


	16. Chapter 16: Taking A Risk

**Chapter 16: Taking Α Risk**

_"What the hell happened?"_

_"No one's entirely certain. They found the kid trying to save Thatch, screaming for help…"_

_"Well, what did he say?"_

_"Something about Teach and a devil fruit. It was hard to understand, he was practically hysterical."_

_"Shit, how could this thing happen? Where is he now?"_

_"I think they put him in Marco's room. He refuses to talk to anyone, just repeats the same phrase over and over again…"_

* * *

"It's my fault… It's all my fault… Shit, _Thatch_..."

The boy was sitting with his back against the wall, head on his knees, fingers pulling at his hair desperately. No, no, no, _no_. This couldn't have happened. No, he was supposed to go warn him, protect him, save him. Not walk in there and find him…

Bile rose up in his throat, eyes stinging with tears. "It's my fault."

_"If you could change something in the past, would you do it? Even if it would mean risking the future?"_

_"Or do you think Izou or Haruta will come and take it behind my back?"_

_"Thatch… Are you… in here?"_

_"You can barely protect yourself."_

_"This won't be the last time this happens."_

_"Thatch!"_

_"HELP ME!"_

He bit the edge of his jeans to stifle a scream. "Please… Please, no."

The door creaked loudly as it opened and Haruta slowly walked in, looking him over, full of hesitation and worry. "Edan? How are you doing?" She whispered, her voice uncharacteristically gentle, soft. A choked sob that was his only reply made her flinch. Careful not to startle the young boy, she quietly sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk to me about it?"

"This is my fault." The was such absolution in his words, that almost scared the woman.

"Edan…"

Tearful, _hurting_ blue eyes turned to her and she trailed off, speechless from the raw display of emotion coming from the usually guarded kid. "I knew this was going to happen, Haruta. And I didn't… I didn't…"

"Edan, I know. I knew from the very beginning that you were aware of the fate of this crew. But I didn't push you to tell me or change it. It's not your responsibility and changing the past might not be the best idea to begin with. Everything happens for a reason."

The kid stood there frozen for a second, unable to believe her understanding of the situation. "You… how did you know?"

Haruta sighed, an unusual tiredness taking over. "Edan, when you first met Thatch you looked like you had seen a ghost." His eyes widened in realization. Had he really been that obvious? "Ace too. I'm glad you recognize some of us, meaning we're still alive, but I'm terrified to even think about why you don't know some."

"N-not all people I don't know are dead," he tried to reassure her.

"But some of them are." There was no possible answer to that. It wasn't really a question anyway. "Who?"

"Haruta…"

"Sorry, never mind…"

"Hey…" Edan asked hesitantly, wiping away the tears from his cheeks. "Why aren't you mad at me? About T-… about what happened?"

What neither of them expected was a different voice to answer from the door. " Because Thatch's still alive, yoi."

Edan jumped up, still a little on the edge from the night's events. "Marco?" he asked, a sort of panic taking over. Shit. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," the phoenix shrugged, walking in. "You're from the future then, Edan? That's a new one."

"I'm _so_ sorry…"

"Don't be," he interrupted casually. "Thatch's alive. He is pretty bad, but he should be ok in time. If you hadn't called for help, he wouldn't be. Nobody would expect you to try and change stuff, if what you're saying is true. It's too risky. So, _thank _you for changing that one, yoi."

The boy was overwhelmed, tears building in his eyes once again, threatening to spill. "Marco…" he choked out, voice brimming with gratitude and relief.

And Haruta just _had_ to ruin the moment. "He's Ace's little nephew, you know!"

"HARUTA!"

* * *

Edan then proceeded to tell Marco everything Haruta had heard about him as well as the night's events with Teach's betrayal. Shame flared up inside of him when he had to admit he had known what was going to happen yet didn't properly warn Thatch. However Marco wouldn't allow him to drown in his guilt.

"Hey, stop that. Thatch is alive, that's what matters now. We'll fix it. We'll fix everything. Is there anything else we should know?"

The kid wracked his brain to remember anything else he had been told about the situation. Suddenly it hit him.

"Oh, shit. Where's Ace?"

* * *

As predicted, the fire user was outside, bringing chaos to the deck with his yelling. Ace's greatest weaknesses were his stubbornness and pride and this situation sent them both into overdrive. Only this time Edan wouldn't hesitate. Ace was _not_ leaving this ship.

"Ace!" he stepped in front, mentally preparing himself for the rage that was about to come. "Please, listen to them! Don't go!"

Many heads turned at the sound of his voice. Clearly almost everyone had heard about how exactly Thatch was found that day. His guilt made itself known again under the weight of their stares, but he ignored it for the sake of his uncle.

"You _saw_ what happened, Edan! Do you think I can let him get away with something like this?"

"Yeah, I saw what happened. And I never want to see it happen again! Especially not to you, Ace. Just stay here!"

The man flinched at his choice of words, but still refused to listen. What a stubborn idiot. "Sorry, I have to go."

"Whitebeard said don't go!" the boy yelled at him, getting a little desperate. "Isn't the Captain's order final?"

_Thump. Thump._

Edan felt himself dying. A newfound, burning agony erupted in his chest, making him gasp for a breath that just would not come.

"Edan?"

All color left his young face as he took an expression of pure shock, mouth gaping, eyes widened in stunned terror. His hands weakly grasped his chest by instinct, but his legs quickly gave up on him. In mere seconds he found himself on all fours on the deck, struggling to breathe.

"_Edan!_"

"What the hell?"

"Edan, what's wrong?"

Hands were soon on him, on his arms, his back, cupping his face and tilting it upwards to see what was wrong. Haruta and Marco had immediately rushed to his side, while Ace was standing a little behind, his face twisted in a stunned expression.

"Edan!" Marco yelled, in a demanding voice to get his attention over the ringing of his ears. "Talk to me, what's happening?"

That was an excellent question he'd love to know the answer to.

"You're messing to much with the past. _That's_ what's happening."

As suddenly as it had come, the pain was now gone and Edan tried to take in the much needed oxygen. But nobody else was moving. His eyes wandered around the deck to find everyone completely and utterly frozen, not even blinking. "What the…?"

"Time freezing. Neat trick, ain't it?"

Clumsily, still drained from his previous predicament, he turned around and came face to face with an unknown man. He appeared to be at his late twenties, with dark brown hair covering his eyes and a light stumble on his chin. His face was almost expressionless, save from a small smirk.

"Who… who are you?"

"I'm the guy who brought you here."

A gasp left the kid's mouth. "_You_ did? Why? What do you want?"

He was surprised hear a sigh coming from the man. "Unfortunately, it wasn't my decision," he said, stroking his long fringe behind his ear. "if it was up to me, I'd leave you alone. Personally, I don't believe any of that 'demon children' crap. So, I guess I'm on your side."

"Yeah… I can tell," Edan narrowed his eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're welcome," the man continued, either oblivious or simply not caring. "And to prove it to you, I'll tell you what the thing you felt before was."

Well, that definitely got his interest. "Do tell."

"You killed yourself."

That bluntness of his briefly made him wonder if they were related, before the shock at the information settled. "_What_?"

"Changing the past a little bit is risky, but perhaps acceptable if done correctly. Like… you saving pompadour guy."

"Thatch," Edan growled.

"Whatever," he simply shrugged. "But you _can't_ for whatever reason change huge events which could alter your future completely. I'm not familiar with your family history but I'm guessing what you were trying to do would have sparked a chain reaction that would have resulted in you _never existing._ Understand?"

"That is ridiculous." What was even more ridiculous though, was how it all seemed to make perfect sense to the boy.

"Is it really? Think about it. What did you almost screw up?"

What _did _he screw up? Provided the guy was telling the truth, of course. He was just trying to convince Ace not to go after… _Oh_. Right.

_"The funny thing is, Ace saved Luffy in more ways than one. I mean, if he hadn't gone after Blackbeard, that bastard would've gone after your dad. I don't even want to imagine how that would have ended…"_

"Dad…" Edan breathed, realization sinking in.

The guy seemed to catch on as well. "Ah. Killing your parents is the most usual one, I think. Basically you can get killed if you kill yourself, your parents, make them never meet or like… hate each other… unless they're into that kind of thing, I guess."

"Ahem."

"Right, right, I'm getting out of subject. Well, you get it, don't you?"

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that I've got to save Ace."

"At your father's expense?" he asked, frowning disbelievingly.

Come on, come on, there had to be a way around that. Ace… Ace couldn't die. No way. Not if he had something to say about it. Wait…

"I'll save them both."

The man started to laugh, before he figured the boy was not joking. "You…" Then a smile full of interest appeared on his face, one brow raised curiously. "Suit yourself, kid."

With that, he ordered him to go back to his original position, so he could let time flow again.

"Edan?" Haruta called him worriedly.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," he reassured her, standing up again. Looking around he spotted Ace staring at him uncertainly. "Ace…"

"Edan, I'm going," he announced, clear from his tone that this argument would not be continued.

This time, Edan didn't disagree. Instead he let a wide smirk spread on his face. "I know. I'm coming with you."


	17. Chapter 17: Not A Question

A/N: I'm so sorry. For the "late" update. And the shortness of this chapter. I needed a break and this chapter is more like a filler than an actual chapter. I just couldn't entirely skip it. But the next one should be fun to write.

**Chapter 17: Not A Question**

Had the situation not been so serious, many crewmates would have possibly laughed at the bewilderment in Ace's expression. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it was not a self-invitation. What was even more amusing though, was the kid's determined expression, a clear sign that _no_ was not an acceptable answer. In short, all Whitebeard Pirates present were incredibly curious to see how that one would solve itself out. Of course, Ace being who he was ignored the boy's unspoken denial immediately.

"No. Forget it. I refuse."

Instead of getting mad, Edan let his smirk take a more sinister turn and narrowed his piercing eyes at him. "Oh, I'm asking you. This isn't a question. I am merely informing you."

Annoyed as he was by that attitude, Ace let sarcasm and threatening seep into his tone. "_Really_?"

"Really."

"How exactly are you going to help me? Pray tell," he man requested, hands crossed in front of his chest, eyebrows raised in a challenge.

His confident manner never changed and with a shrug he replied with a simple "I have Haki."

"Haki?"

"Yeah. It means I get to do _this_," he demonstrated neatly with a strong punch to the fire user's arm, "And _this_…" he added when he avoided Ace's counterstrike. "…regardless of your devil fruit. Pretty neat, huh?"

"I _will_ kill you," the logia stated, discreetly rubbing his aching arm.

"Nah, you won't."

Damn, his confidence was pissing him off. "Not happening, kid."

"Why the hell not? You want to leave? Fine. Take me with you. Or is Thatch's revenge exclusively assigned to you? That man tried to kill my friend and mocked me for it. I have a right to kick his sorry ass as well!"

That apparently hit some sort of soft spot as Ace's eyes softened a little at the words. Having been the one who had found them that night, the man had seen the gut-wrenching terror and guilt in Edan's face in person. And it was not a pretty sight. Just the memory of such desperation made his stomach twist. After something like that, could he truly deny him this?

"Edan…" What surprised Ace was how nobody was protesting that request. Either they also felt sympathy for the boy, or they just didn't believe he would let him come in the first place. Well, that made it their fault too. With a click of his tongue, he announced his decision. "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want."

Edan's eyes widened considerably, the boy not quite believing he had succeeded in convincing him. Neither could the rest of the crew.

"Oi, oi, Ace! What are you saying?" Jozu interfered. "Stay here. Both of you."

Once again people started ganging up on Ace for his choice to leave. In the meantime, Edan made his way back to his room to fetch his stuff. Less than five minutes later, he emerged with a black backpack and his precious straw hat hanging from his neck. However, the moment he stepped out, Haruta grabbed his arm and dragged him aside.

"Edan, _what_ are you doing?"

"Saving my past." There was no hesitation in his words. Obviously much thought have been put into this. What the woman wasn't sure was how correct all that thinking had been… Before she could voice her worries, Edan freed himself for her hold and ran to catch up with Ace. Seriously, what were those idiots going to get themselves into?

Unfortunately for the kid, she wasn't the only person who stopped him on the way there. Really, he should have thought about it. As if Whitebeard would simply let them go like that. At the call of his name by the captain, Edan froze, finally realizing the one thing he had forgotten to take into account.

"_Edan_. What are you planning on doing, kid?"

Not seeing another way around it, he tried as quietly, discreetly and with as less words as possible to explain the situation, including the part about the time guy. Hopefully that way he wouldn't try to convince Ace to stay on the ship. While the boy really would consider _himself_ dying instead of Ace, Luffy dying before his time was unacceptable. Not to mention Ace wouldn't appreciate it either.

Whitebeard narrowed his eyes, considering it for a moment, before sighing. There was no way he would purposefully kill the young boy. Or Ace's little brother, who his son was so fond of. For now, he had to trust that boy to take care of his family. So with a word of warning he let him go, immediately second guessing his decision when he heard the Striker start to move in the water.

* * *

"Ace? Are you sure this thing can hold two people?"

"Nope."

"NOPE?!"

"Well, you can swim, can't you?"

"_ACE!_"

* * *

"I hate you."

"I know you do."

"I _really_ hate you."

"To be fair, nobody asked you to come."

* * *

"Ace! Ace! Stop this damn thing!"

"Not happening, kid!"

"Ace! _Shit_, _Ace_! I'm f-falling off- I'm seriously falling off. Ace. Ace. _Ace!_ AAH!"

"Shit! You idiot! What are you doing?"

"You're… such… an asshole…"

"Keep talking like that and I'm not letting you back on."

"I… don't think I _want_ back on."

* * *

"Where EXACTLY ARE WE GOING?"

"To find Teach, of course!"

"Do you actually have any idea where he is?!"

"I have some clues! We're going the right way!"

"I doubt it!"

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

"Land! Finally! Land! Oh, I've never been so thankfully to be freezing."

Ace got off the Striker and eyed the boy lying on the snow in front of him. He still couldn't believe they had actually made it to the first part of the Grand Line. And just what was Teach doing around here anyway?! Though to be fair, they had strayed a bit off route, but for a good reason. Now that he thought about it, he might have forgotten to mention that fact to Edan. Well, he would find out eventually.

Speaking of, why was that idiot still on the ground?

"Oi, don't be such a drama queen. Get up. We have work to do," he told him and threw him his backpack a little too harshly.

"Ow. Ok, ok. Shut up. Jeez, it's cold here. Where are we?" Looking around, Edan couldn't help but think this place seemed familiar… Had he been here before? He stood up and after brushing the snow off his clothes, he neatly placed the straw hat on his head.

Ace tensed at the sight. It was always weird when Edan did that. As if he didn't remind him of Luffy enough as it was. With the hat on… Damn. "We're on Drum Island."

"_Drum Island_?!" The kid did a double take. Eyes wide with surprise, he turned to the man. "Did you say Drum Island?"

"Yeah… why?"

_Chopper! Chopper's here! Or has dad already made him join the crew?_

"N-nothing. What… what are we doing here? Teach's not here, is he?"

The man also scanned the area around them casually, not shaking from the cold like the boy was. He briefly consider lighting a fire next to him as he had weeks before, but that would bring them way too much attention. Edan would have to bear with it for a while. "No. He's not."

"Then what are we doing here?"

Much to the boy's surprise, Ace turned to him with a wide grin on his face, for once excited about something. "We're looking for Luffy."

* * *

A/N: Because in the last chapter I was too tired to mention it (believe it or not I had actually hand-written the entire thing and then had to type it all again. Grr...), I was surprised at your responses about your favorite villain. The most popular choice seems to be Crocodile, while the least favorite is Blackbeard. Personally I agree with the Blackbeard one. I mean, the villain should make you love to hate him and I just can't do that with Teach. I just hate him. My brother on the other hand loves it. If I had to pick a favorite villain I'd actually say Lucci. Random rant aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to get the next one up real soon!


	18. Chapter 18: Family Matters

A/N: 200 reviews! You guys are really awesome! Thank you so much! Cookies for everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 18: Family Matters**

"So, he wasn't there after all. But hey, you left a message didn't you? He's going to meet us here."

Edan would be lying if he said he wasn't excited at the prospect of seeing his father. Sure, it would be weird as hell, but he hadn't seen the man for ten years now. Even his 17-year-old self who wouldn't recognize him as his son was good enough for him. His heart rate picked up a bit when he tried to think of what he should or _could_ say to him, but he would worry about that when they finally met. What was confusing the boy however, was how they had told them they hadn't seen Luffy. Edan knew for a fact that his dad stopped by that island. In fact he had probably been there at that very moment. Maybe they had been trying to protect him and the crew. Did they really look that scary? Well, Ace might have. Seriously, what was up with the mysterious act?

"If he gets the message. Or finds his way here," Ace grumbled, annoyed.

Currently, they were in Alabasta, waiting and hoping the other D would show up. Ace kept asking around but no one had seen him here either. If Nami hadn't mentioned meeting his uncle here, he would have seriously given up by now. But according to the future, Luffy was going to meet them here. He couldn't have screwed up the order of events that much, could he?

"Relax. I'm sure he's around here somewhere. We'll find him."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go ask around one more time. Go find some water."

Ten minutes later, Edan found Ace in yet another stand, showing his brother's bounty poster. And just where did he get the poster in the first place? Hadn't he hung it? The boy came to stand next to him, absentmindedly looking around. A small gasp left his lips soon after, eyes widening in surprise.

"Zoro?" No, not just Zoro. Usopp and Chopper and Nami as well. But no Luffy. Where in the world had he gone off to? Not to mention how young they all looked. Even Zoro. It was surprising how weird it seemed to him, to see him with both his eyes open. But the longer he looked at them the worst he felt. His teeth dug into his lower lip painfully. It had been a long time since the last time he had seen them. At times like this, he truly wanted to go back home.

"A restaurant, huh? Come on, kid. Let's go eat, I'm starving." Ace brought him back from his thoughts and dragged him away before he could do anything about it. Perhaps it was better to let things play out as planned.

* * *

"Oh, no! My boy, is that man dead?"

"No, he's just an idiot."

_Honestly, Ace, I should be offended. Falling asleep in the middle of the conversation like that!_ _Eh, more food for me._

Ignoring the worried questions from the cook and the customers of the shop, Edan kept on eating, taking most of Ace's share as well. Ok, maybe he should a little more sensitive about his narcolepsy attacks, but then again… food. Soon enough though, even that was gone and he figured he might as well wake Ace up.

"Oi, Ace. Wake up. _Now, Ace_." Naturally, the man didn't obey, regardless of the hard shaking he received. _Now, what can we do about that?_ Without bothering to hide his mischief, he let a wide grin envelop his face, before coating his right hand in black. "You really should have woken up…"

_"ACE!_"

"OW! You bastard, I'll kill you!"

"You-you wouldn't… wake up!" He tried to say between his laughter.

"Stop laughing!"

"Why?"

The genuine curiosity in the kid's voice pissed Ace off to no end. A fire would have started right on top of that of black mop of his, if another voice hadn't stopped them both.

"I guess you don't have a problem with eating in public. Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division, Portgas D. Ace."

Naturally, the whole restaurant panicked at the information, but they were all promptly ignored. It's not like Ace was trying to hide it.

"What business does an infamous pirate like you have in this country?"

The raven-haired man for his part kept his cool and slowly turned to address the Marine. "I'm searching. For my little brother."

While Edan didn't see the necessity of revealing that, he had bigger worries in his mind. Wasn't that Smoker? He was clearly younger, though to be honest his style in the future was much better. Of course, the greatest touch were the _two_ cigarettes in his mouth, a habit he still maintained. Then again, when you were made of smoke these things most likely didn't harm you. Maybe they even made you more powerful. Probably not.

When he finally switched his focus back to the conversation, his eyes enlarged with disbelief. Ace had managed to start a fight with him. Great. Hopefully, Smoker wasn't that strong all the way back then. They would most likely be ok, as long as they kept in mind that they shouldn't kill him, since he was sort of important to the story line… maybe.

Once the man's hand turned to smoke, Edan realized things were getting serious. Tensing instinctively, he prepared himself for the fight that would follow. None of them could have _ever_ expected the reason behind the cancellation of that fight.

"Do you hear something…?" Edan murmured, furrowing his brows in confusion.

_"...ROCKET!_"

All the kid could do was watch with wide eyes as a second straw hat wearing boy did, like he in a way _warned_ them he would, rocket himself inside the restaurant. The impart hit the grey-haired marine with enough force to bent him almost completely backwards and then push them even further forward. Right into… Oh. Oh this was going to be good.

Ace adopted an expression that clearly portrayed his understanding of what was about to happen to him, eyes popped out of their sockets, mouth open in shock. Before anyone could try to stop it, even if they wanted to, the previously arguing men slammed into each other and with an impressive, loud, breaking sound they flew two or three buildings over, destroying more than a couple of walls in the process.

Blinded from the dust as he was, Edan couldn't see who was to blame for it, but was doubled over in laughter, coughing occasionally in between because of the dirt in the air. The laugh was cut short though, once the one responsible for this whole mess came into view.

"A restaurant! I finally found one!" the culprit laughed, overjoyed by his discovery, his arms up in the air. "Now I can eat! I'm starving!"

Who would have noticed the stunned face of the younger boy?

Monkey D. Luffy jumped to one of the stools and demanded to be fed. All the while his son was staring at him like he couldn't quite believe he was in front of him. However that wasn't entirely true. While Edan was astonished to meet his father in this way and in this age, what truly surprised him was his behavior. Sure, Luffy was a little on the crazy side, but this…

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Food, food, food!"

"Dad?" Edan let out a barely audible whisper, trying to connect this image with the one he already had of him.

It was when he started asking about the hole in the wall, that Edan truly lost it.

"Is that your hobby?"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID IT!"

_"You should be thankful, Edan," Usopp had once said to him._

_"Why is that?"_

_"You got your mother's brains."_

To top it all off, the other two had returned and Smoker, after unceremoniously throwing Ace back down was having a glaring contest with Luffy. Well, Smoker was glaring anyway, while the younger was completely oblivious to what was happening. From what the marine was saying, Edan understood that they had already met. Luffy was just a little slow on the uptake. A hand clamped over the boy's mouth to stop the laughter from escaping when the man yelled at the raven-haired to stop eating like an idiot.

Funnily enough, Luffy soon seemed to realize in what kind of situation he was in and was starting to become nervous. In one swift move, he inhaled everything in front of him and after thanking the cook for the food, bolted as quickly as possible. For a second, everyone stood dumbfounded, before Smoker swiftly followed him, calling out his name in rage.

Somewhere at this point, Ace had stood up again and added himself to that little train they had created. "Oi, Luffy! Wait! It's me!" Never mind the fact that he had completely forgotten about his young companion. He just ran off in pursuit of his brother, ignoring Edan's calls from behind.

In a matter of minutes, the kid was the only one of them left at the restaurant, so he did the only thing he _could _do. Run.

_Am I the only normal person in this family?!_

* * *

A/N: I can't believe how hard that was to write. Don't worry, they'll have a proper interaction in the next chapter! Which I'll try to post soon enough, even if I'm having trouble communicating with my characters at the moment...


	19. Chapter 19: Busted

A/N: As if writing on my phone wasn't bad enough it just HAD to crash a few times. In other words some parts of it had to be written three times because I kept losing my work. Great.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Busted**

Where was the adreline rush when you needed it? Edan didn't know for how long he could keep going like this. He had been running for quite a while and somehow managed to get lost in the way. His feet hurt from coming in contact with the scorching sand and his shirt was soaked through with sweat from the intense heat. Confused and tired, the boy just wished to find someone he recognized soon.

"You know, at first I didn't really believe you, when you said you were going to try to change your fate."

_Not_ him.

"But you actually went for it. Good for you, Prince."

"Never call me that," Edan halfheartedly protested, too busy being boiled alive to actually care.

The brown haired man frowned then pouted, disappointed at the objection. "Why? I think it's cute."

Huffing tiredly, his feet percistently moving forward still, he glared at him from the corner of his eye. "I don't really care what you think."

"Then you shouldn't care how I call you." The man's shit-eating grin was one of the best he had seen. After his father's and his own, of course.

Much to his annoyance, there was soon another step of footsteps behind him. Oy vay. "And how should I call you then? Creepy time guy?"

"Close enough," the other chuckled with a smug sounding amusement.

"Oh yeah?"

"Name's Gero."

"_Gero_?"

"It means future. Ironic isn't it?"

"Don't worry, I've had my fair share of irony in my life. I'm used to it... Gero."

A vibrant red color of fire flashed somewhere near them and the two immediately adapted their route accordingly. Apparently he hadn't strayed too far off. It wasn't a good enough excuse for his stupidity but it helped. Not really wanting to spent any more time with what he assumed was a devil fruit user who just wouldn't get to the point, he rushed to that direction. As a curious person however, for merely a second, he turned his head slightly, enough to check if he was being followed. Yet Gero was nowhere to be found.

"Crazy bastard," he rolled his eyes and went off to find people even crazier than that.

* * *

In the midst of heat and smoke, the two logias were found, prepared to fight a battle in vain. Behind them were Marines on one side and a dumbfounded Luffy with his crew on the other.

"Anyway, we can't talk like this," Ace said to his brother, still keeping his eyes fixated on Smoker. "Go, I'll catch up with you later."

"Ace-" Edan began and immediately got his answer without even asking.

"Go with them, Edan. I'll join later."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Lu, take the kid with you, will you?"

At the sound of his name, Luffy turned to them and switched his attention to him. He frowned for a second before nodding. "Ok. Come on, let's go!"

Blue eyes widened a fracture at the idea, but with no other way around it, he complied and ran along with the pirate crew, all the while trying very hard not to think about what was happening around him. Until there was a bizarre choice to be made.

He could either follow the crew as he was supposed to... Or go with his entirely oblivious father... the wrong way.

"Da- Shit. LUFFY!"

_Aren't parents supposed to take care of their children and not the other way around? _he thought, as he purposefully separated himself from the crew in pursuit of his father. Either Luffy ignored him or just didn't hear him; whatever the reason they ended up far away from the rest and in who knows where.

"L... Luffy!" He tried again, the name weird in his tongue when the man was right in front of him. "Hey, hang on! I think we're lost."

That stopped the rubber man, who looked around in wonder before turning to the kid. A hand came to scratch the back of his head awkwardly while an enormous smile enveloped his young face. "Oh, I guess we are. Sorry."

Edan's shoulders rose in a small shrug. "No worries, we'll catch up."

It was then that he realized the situation he was in. This was Luffy. Luffy. A person he hadn't spoken to for ten years now. What was he supposed to say? He hadn't even met him yet. He probably hadn't even met his mother.

"Oh!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, eyes going wide. "You have a straw hat too!"

Edan blinked, uncomprehending for a moment before he realized what the other D was talking about. "Oh, right. This..." he mumbled and took it off to show it to the guy.

"Cool!" Luffy laughed. His attitude was so bright and carefree and innocent it was somewhat contagious. Soon enough, the boy found a smile spreading on his own face at the cheerfulness in the air.

"I'm Monkey D Luffy."

"Edan." Thankfully he didn't call him on his lack of a surname.

However if he had known what would happen next, the subject of his surname coming up would have been a great conversation. What Luffy said next made the boy freeze in fear and shock.

"Oh! Ace!"

Confusion was clear on Ace's face along with a hint of suspicion that made him look dangerous enough for the kid to take a step back. "Don't you two know each other?"

Luffy frowned at his brother. "No... I don't think so."

"You usually don't remember people, Lu, but you should at least remember him. I mean... you told him... about me... Didn't you?"

If possible, his frown got even more refined. "What about you?"

"About my father, Lu."

Luffy's little laugh at that showed Edan just how screwed he was. "Why would I do that, Ace?"

Edan shrank under the heated glare he was given. The temperature around the oldest increased even further, a sign that flames would light up soon if he didn't calm down.

"Edan..." He growled, fists clenched so tightly at his sides that the knuckles turned white."

"I-I have a... perfectly good... e-explanation for this."

"Go on, then. Amuse me."

The boy faltered under the pressure. Explaining the situation was hard enough to just his uncle. With Luffy being there as well it was nearly impossible. "Can we... not... do this here?"

"Oh, you want privacy when I burn you alive for lying to me?" Ace laced his anger with fake amusement.

"Yeah, that would be good."

Ace seemed eager to tell him something not so decent at the moment but in the end he resorted to just growling in frustration and roughly dragging him aside. "Go towards the port, Lu. Find your crew, I'll be there soon." Luffy obeyed his brother with little thought. But neither of them missed the worried look he cast to the kid. As soon as the young pirate was gone, Ace turned with a murderous look to the boy, a scowl twisting his features. "Talk. Now. And don't you _dare_ lie to me, Edan. I've had enough of your crap."

"Ace, I never..."

"Why would you do that? Why won't you _trust_ me?" His eyes were narrowed and filled with accusation.

"It's not about trusting you, Ace!"

"What is it about?! I tried my best to believe you! I listened to you! And this is how you repay me? By lying your arse off? How did you even make up such a story?"

What shocked the boy the most was the feeling of _betrayal_ in Ace's tone. The man had truly trusted him with everything that was important. Trusted him like he would trust Luffy. Enough to bring him here with him. Enough to go to Whitebeard. And Edan had screwed it all up.

"It's complicated..." He murmured, guilt taking over, a painful ache spreading in his heart, making him automatically wrap his arms around himself.

"Try me! What else did you lie about?"

"_Nothing_!"

"Your father?"

"_NO_!" He exclaimed, horrified at the question. "I would never!"

"Why should I believe you? Clearly you're not a huge fan of telling the truth!"

By that point the kid was on the verge of crying, the desperation overwhelming. There was nothing he could do now. Nothing at all. Well, there was one thing. Screw it. Screw it all.

Edan cast his eyes to the ground, knowing that if he looked at up at Ace now, he wouldn't be able to let it out. "Back when we were at that island... when I told you I was from the future... I wasn't joking."

"_What_?"

"My name is Monkey D. Edan and I'm your nephew."

* * *

A/N: And this wasn't supposed to happen. Oh well. Ugh, I'm still annoyed. That's all for now then.


	20. Chapter 20: Can You See It?

A/N: I don't really like this chapter, especially by the end I was too tired to keep going, so I may or may not come back and edit it later. Sorry about that.

For those who haven't seen, I posted a little story. It's awfully weird, but I'd love to know what you think, so please check it out. It's called _Twilight Circus_ and I'm considering on continuing it, because apparently one shot plot bunnies grow larger after you post the first chapter. Whoops.

Enough with that, ON with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Can You See It?**

If looks could kill, then this one would hesitantly nudge him as if it couldn't quite believe he was there and cower away. With one little statement the conversation had turned from dangerous to awkward to no conversation at all. Perhaps it wasn't just a _little_ statement, but surely Ace should have reacted in some way by now. How long has it been? The man just stared and stared, occasionally letting his eyes roam over him as if judging whether he looked enough like Luffy to believe the claim. Maybe he actually was. Either way it was extremely uncomfortable and soon Edan found himself fidgeting nervously, his shoes scraping the ground aimlessly.

"Are you going to say something soon?" He had to ask eventually, daring to look up at him with caution. "If you're going to light me on fire just do it already, it's better than… whatever the hell this is."

Ace frowned at him, but soon his lips parted soundlessly and Edan held his breath, waiting for him to speak. "Say it. One more time."

"I said that if you're going to light me on fire…" the boy repeated with a huff.

"_Not_ that." His fists clenched tightly, his patience with this conversation quickly running out. "The other thing. Your… name."

"Oh. Yeah, I can see why you'd want me to repeat that, I mean…"

"_Edan_."

"_Monkey D._ Edan to be exact, Ace."

The fire user chuckled humorlessly. "You can't be serious. You can't expect me to believe that."

For the first time since arriving to the past, Edan had no reason to hide anything. He couldn't take back what he had said like that, not when he had already been accused of lying a few moments before, so he might as well let it out. Right? Let's say right. "I didn't. Which is why I've been lying so much lately."

"So you're lying."

"No. I've been lying, so I wouldn't have to tell you this, knowing you wouldn't believe me. It's insane, I know, but how do you think _I _feel? I'm not just away from home, I'm 20 years away from my _time_ period! You try going back in time and meeting a family member."

Ace run a hand through his hair, his head swirling with the new information, information he wasn't sure he believed in the first place. Edan almost fell sorry for the guy. Seeing how childish Luffy was here, the thought of him having a child must be mind blowing. "You better show me some solid proof, kid, or I swear I _will _burn you alive. If this is another trick you're going to regret ever meeting me."

"Understandable," the boy nodded. A little stab of pain was felt on his chest, somewhat hurt at the doubt and suspicion in the man's voice. "I have proof and I'm willing to show it to you, but Dad-" A look of absolute horror showed on Ace's face. "_Luffy_. _LUFFY_ is waiting for us," he was quick to correct himself once he saw the terror in the other's wide eyes. "Shouldn't we leave this for later? Plus, if _this_ is going to be your reaction to the whole thing, I can't have you looking at me like this in front of the crew."

While Ace knew he should be at least somewhat offended, the boy was a bit right. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. "So what do you suggest then?"

"Pretend this never happened, until d- Luffy, _Luffy_- don't look at me like that, I said Luffy- and the crew separate from us again. Then I'll tell you everything you need to know. Deal?"

"Look-"

"Ace, _come on_. They're going to leave and I want to _meet him_. Try to understand."

Black eyes narrowed in suspicion at him. "If he's your… father… how do you not remember him?"

"Do you remember everything from when you were four?"

He stammered wordlessly for a second, suddenly realizing what he had said. "Edan-"

"Shut up and let's go," the kid laughed lightly and dragging his uncle by the arm, started running towards the port.

Somewhere along the way, Ace let his curiosity take over him. "What sort of proof would you show me anyway?"

After an eye roll at the guy's inability to leave something behind even for a moment, he replied lightheartedly. "You mean, apart from Luffy's exact hat, only twenty years older?"

"There are many straw hats out there, Edan."

"Says the guy who almost burned me alive because he thought I stole his brother's hat."

"Don't sound so bitter."

"You burned my clothes."

"Those were _my_ clothes."

"Minor detail."

* * *

"Please tell me we're not getting the Striker to Merry."

"Merry?"

"Luffy's ship."

"Just get on, don't be a baby."

"Not this shit again…"

* * *

"Who exactly are you going to beat?" He heard Ace tell his brother once they finally made it to the Going Merry.

Edan climbed up the rope but stopped himself just before his head reached the railing. This was going to be a tough one. He knew every single one of those people on deck, yet he had to pretend that he didn't. Going around and calling their names without being introduced or revealing information he wasn't supposed to have would screw this up big time. Not to mention some of them might kill him. Some of them meaning Zoro.

"Are you coming up or what?" Ace called him impatiently. Then again, he had been hanging there for quite a while.

With a final deep breath, he pushed his feet against the rope and placed a hand on the railing to pull himself up. "Sorry," he muttered, his eyes on the wood in front of him.

Luffy's cheery voice forced him to look up. "Oh, good! You're still alive! I thought Ace was going to kill you there! Shishishi!"

"Nothing funnier than that…" Usopp muttered, looking at his captain incredulously.

On the other hand, Ace had his gaze on the boy, who couldn't help but notice the slight shaking of his head, like the statement about his lineage was getting more and more unlikely with every second spent with his brother.

"Ace! Edan!" The rubber man yelled, effectively gaining their attention again. "This is my crew! Zoro, Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Chopper and Vivi and Carue!" Introductions were made and Edan was proud of himself for managing to keep up the pretence of not knowing a single one of them.

What unnerved him the most was the narrowed eyes Zoro kept on him, studying him carefully. The swordsman opened his mouth to talk, when the sound of an explosion startled them all. The ship rocked violently and a few of them had to grab on to the railings to steady themselves.

"Baroque Works!" Vivi announced in alarm.

Sure enough, a fleet of pirate ships were quickly advancing on them, neither of them seeming even the tiniest bit friendly. However Ace decided to take the matter into his own fiery hands. "Leave it to me."

Before any of them could stop him, he jumped back on the Striker, annoying the boy that for once would have liked to go on board and kick some ass and showed those idiots what it meant to mess with his little brother. So instead of fighting, the Straw Hat crew and their guest stood back and enjoyed the show. Everyone loves fireworks.

Luffy was excited to see his older brother like this and he cheered whole heartedly at his attacks, while the rest of them admired how much of a monster Ace was.

But the mood soon got from thrilled to weird when the fight ended and Nami voiced a comment neither one of the straw hat wearing teens had expected.

"So Luffy, you're the middle brother?"

The captain frowned, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about, Nami? I'm the little brother."

"Isn't Edan younger than you?"

The kid froze in shock, before a wide grin appeared on his face. Naturally, that only supported the woman's theory. Luffy chuckled as well, amused by the implication. "Edan's not my brother. You're not, are you?"

His smile widened even further. "No, I don't think so."

"Really?" Nami asked again, hey eyes shifting between the two. "You look a lot alike. Are you sure you're not related?"

From the corner of his eyes, Edan noticed that Ace had come back to the ship and was watching the scene with a shocked expression. "Oh, yeah?" Might as well play with it a little bit. "You think so? Weird. Isn't it… Ace?"

The momentary horror in those black eyes were worth the glare they gave him afterwards.

* * *

A/N: Eh. I promise Ace will get the full scoop either in the next chapter or the one after that. Apart from that, school starts in two days and I hate to say it but... _slower updates_. I apologize in advance. Til next time! x


	21. Chapter 21: Straw Hat Family

A/N: School sucks. End of story. Sorry for the slightly delayed update, I'm afraid my delays will keep getting longer and longer. Thank you for your understanding. :)

* * *

**Chapter 21: Straw Hat Family**

Sanji had no idea what he was getting himself into when he offered to make dinner for the three Ds. After cooking for Luffy for so long he really should have known what to expect. Thankfully for him, Ace tried very hard to behave properly, but by the fourth time his little brother took food off his plate he seriously considered devouring the entirety of the boy's food. However since Makino had actually managed to teach some manners to at least _one_ of them, he resorted to giving him a warning glare. Luffy may be an idiot who loves to eat, but even he was smart enough not to mess with Ace's food after that. Fortunately, Edan wasn't the stealing food type, or well not in front of people who didn't know him. If he was back on his time, there wouldn't be a scrap left in any of their plates.

In fact, the boy was currently pondering on the absence of some of the crewmembers. Obviously they hadn't been recruited by this point, yet he couldn't help but feel something was missing without them there. A soft smile graced his lips as he remembered them…

* * *

_ He was a little older than three when he first met Franky, back when Luffy was still alive. Often the crew would come visit them or they would go find the crew themselves. Edan still remembered his father's laughter at the sight of his own eyes widening comically. Honestly, it was mostly the man's fault. How did he manage to forget to mention that Franky was a robot?_

_ Once the initial shock was gone, excitement sparked inside the kid and as fast as his little legs could carry him, he ran to the cyborg curiously. Although Franky himself was surprised to see the bubbly boy for a moment, he quickly recovered and after greeting Luffy, he dragged him away to get some proper bonding time with the newest addition to their family. _

_"OW! So Edan, you want to be a pirate like your dad?"_

_ The child watched with fascination as the blue-haired man picked up a piece of wood and some tools and settled them on the table in front of him. A joyful chuckle combined with a heart-warming, bright smile accompanied his reply. "Yeah!"_

_"Then you'll need a badass ship!" _

_"A… what… ship?" He tilted his head to the side, large blue eyes full of confusion._

_ Franky realized his mistake and instantly dodged the question. "How about a make you a SUUUUPER ship, kid?" A smug laugh left his lips as the boy's eyes practically shined with amazement when he asked if he could really do that. "Of course, I can! Sunny made it to the end of the Grand Line!"_

_ The young D didn't even blink as he watched the shipwright take the wood and shape it into the most amazing toy ship he had ever seen in his short life. Much to the boy's surprise the figurehead had the shape of a sheep. When asked why he had chosen that, Franky's simple answer was: "This is Merry. Your dad's first ship. I assumed she also wanted to meet you." Next the painting was done and soon the cyborg proudly presented the toy to the boy, who was practically jumping on his seat by that point._

_"There you go, Captain!" A grin spread on his face, watching the kid beam with happiness._

_"Thanks so much, Franky! It's… how did you say it?… _SUUPER_!"_

_ Franky had never laughed so hard in his life before._

* * *

_ At the age of five, he finally approached Robin. That's not to say he hadn't met her before, but he had always kept his distance. The woman sort of… crept him out. She always said such macabre stuff and she sent off such a mysterious aura, the kid felt a little uneasy next to her. Little did he know at the time, the demon child of Ohara was possibly one of the few people who could understand him._

_ So she never expected him to come crawling into the room she was currently staying at, in the middle of the night no less. Like she had done many times for years, after not being able to sleep she had decided to stay up and read. Then out of the sudden, a small head, mostly covered by a mop of unruly black hair peaked from her slightly open door._

_"Edan?" Robin called, perplexed, placing a bookmark where she had stopped and leaving the book on the nightstand. "Did the light bother you? What's wrong?"_

_ Shaking slightly, he lifted his head to look up at her. Her eyes widened a fracture at the tears filling his own and running down his puffy cheeks. "R-Robin… can I stay here… for a while?"_

_"Of course," the woman smiled kindly and scooted over on the bed to make room for him. He didn't need to be told twice. The moment the confirmation was given, he made a run for the spot opened for him and buried himself under Robin's blankets. A small gasp involuntarily left him as he felt a hand gently stroke his hair in a soothing motion. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"_

_"I… I had a-a nightmare…" The child admitted in a small voice, snuggling closer to the woman. "And I saw your light on..."_

_"Was it about your father again?"_

_ His lack of reply was enough of an answer to cause a sad smile to appear on her face. This time, it was her who pulled him closer. "Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to get someone for you? Your mom maybe?"_

_"No…"_

_"No?"_

_ Suddenly, Edan turned to look at her in the eye, his expression twisted into one of pleading. "Robin! Read something to me! Please…"_

_"Sure. What do you want to hear?"_

_"A story…"_

_"Any story?"_

_ His teeth tore a bit on his upper lip as he processed that question. Eventually, he gave his request with an out-of-place serious expression that seemed almost comical at such an age. "One with pirates."_

_ With a small chuckle, she made her way out of the bed and towards the bookcase, knowing exactly which book to pick. It was the one of the few his father had taken interest in. _

_"Well then…"_

_ Half an hour later, the child was peacefully asleep in her arms, drooling slightly on his pillow. No more nightmares scared him that night._

* * *

_ Edan loved the times his dad told him stories. So Luffy was truly surprised when one time by the end of it he wasn't cheering, but frowning instead. "Edan… What is it? You feeling okay?" He asked with a hint of concern, eyeing his son carefully._

_"Dad… Did you really have a skeleton in your crew?"_

_ To the boy's annoyance, his father burst into laughter, loud and clear. However that reaction was soon justified as he stated confidently: "Yosh! I've decided. We're going to go visit Brook!"_

_ Surely enough, a week later the boy found himself on a ship on his way to Reverse Mountain. Brook and Laboon had agreed to come to the East Blue instead of them going up all the way to the other side. Something about it being an experience to have with your crew, so Edan shouldn't go up the mountain yet._

_ The kid never doubted his dad's stories no matter how ridiculous they sounded at time. But he had to admit he was beyond shocked to hear a high pitched laughter from ahead of them._

_"YOHOHO! LUFFY-SAN!"_

_"OI!" Luffy called from next to him. "Brook! Long time no see!"_

_ As they neared them, Edan could make out a huge blue whale, probably Laboon with what was honestly a skeleton with an afro on top of it. "You… you really have a skeleton in your crew." His father turned to him curiously, not having expected that breathless tone. A few seconds later he almost slapped himself for ever worrying. "THAT'S SO COOL!" The child exclaimed, his eyes shining bright with excitement._

_ Brook soon came on board and introductions were made. The two hit it off immediately, the kid adoring the skeleton's music. With the combined efforts of both Luffy and Brook, Edan learned the lyrics to Bink's sake and was quickly singing with them the Strawhat Pirates' favorite song._

_ There was only one incident. Well, it was only an incident for the Queen, really._

_"Come on," Luffy nudged his son playfully. "You know you want to ask."_

_ The youngster blushed intensely, but nodded at his dad. "Hey, Brook…"_

_"What is it, Edan-san?"_

_"Do you p-"_

_"_Don't._" _

_ The males of the family were wise to listen to the woman's warning._

* * *

An hour or so later, Usopp found him, leaning against the railing as he often liked to do. Edan had his eyes on the horizon, watching the sunset over the sea with an unusual feeling of nostalgia. He was more than glad when the sniper quietly joined him.

"Hey, Edan."

"Hi, Usopp." A wide grin immediately showed, brightening up his features and making the ship's resident liar feel more welcome.

"Did you enjoy dinner? Don't tell him I said that, but Sanji's cooking is amazing!"

"It really is. To this day, I haven't eaten anything better than _his_ food."

Usopp frowned at his choice of words. Since the boy met the man today, the phrasing didn't make much sense to him. He decided to let it pass, though. "And the ship? How do you like Merry?"

"She's amazing, Usopp."

That seemed to do the trick. The man's grin stretched noticeably, overjoyed by the kid's comment. "Merry is very special, you know! She's… she's home."

Edan's thoughts travelled back to the toy ship back with his stuff, the one he still made sure to take care of and was, even after eleven years, in a great condition. His mind went to the memories he had with the Straw hats and the smile he was wearing softened.

Yes, yes, she was. And so were all of them. Even the ones who hadn't found their way just yet.

* * *

A/N: This chapter actually wasn't supposed to be like that. It was supposed to continue on with the plot and not be a filler, but I really enjoyed writing it and I truly hope you liked it too! Tell me what you think!


	22. Chapter 22: Encounter

A/N: Huh. This was... interesting to write. Actually not so much, but the next one will be. That said, the next chapter should be shorter than the rest but quite insightful, I think and... well, you'll see. XD

I hope you like this one, though!

* * *

**Chapter 22: Encounter**

Ace realized a little too late how making this decision without his companion was a bad, a very bad idea. Also suddenly announcing it at lunch out of the blue didn't help much either. He honestly didn't expect Edan to raise so much hell.

Speaking of, the little brat still hadn't given him solid proof of his lineage. And the more time passed, the more confused the fire user got. In some ways, he was completely different from Luffy; he was smarter, calmer and such a smooth talker when he needed to be, but other times they were too much alike to deny it. That smile, the appetite and that… other thing… the night before…

_ After Edan's talk with Usopp, the boy found his uncle sitting close by, staring absentmindedly in front of him, his posture tense, his expression one of deep thinking. Curious and to be honest a little worried, with a gut feeling that told him this whole thing was about him, he went over to him._

_"Hey. What's going on?" he asked with some interest. However Ace was far too preoccupied and didn't even notice the other. "Ace? _ACE_?"_

_ The man jumped a little, startled and turned to the boy with a hint of surprise in his wide eyes. "Huh? Did you say something?"_

_"Are you ok?" The kid chuckled. "Don't tell me you're still shocked about what I told you."_

_ He visibly winced at the mention of that sensitive subject. "Don't remind me."_

_"Answer me this, would you? I get that it's weird, trust me I _do_, but why does it creep you out this much? Why is it so hard for you to accept?"_

_ A frown appeared at the question. "I just can't believe that Luffy could ever have a kid," Ace admitted after a moment, running a hand through his hair in frustration._

_ Edan's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"_

_"Well… he isn't exactly… a ladies' man…"_

_"I don't understand…"_

_"How could you not…" Ace turned around, annoyed as hell only to trail off when he saw the confusion in the boy's face. Watching him like this, with his head tilted to the side, a small pout and eyes filled with confusion, he reconsidered his words. "You know what? Maybe you _are_ his son..."_

* * *

To be entirely fair, the kid was only fourteen but when _he_ had been fourteen… Well, ok. Perhaps he wasn't the best of examples. Either way there was no way _that_ subject would be brought up again. It was inappropriate to talk about that with his… his… s-s… with Edan to begin with. _Maybe I am a stubborn idiot._

Whether he was like Luffy or not, in the end the reaction would have been probably the same, considering the situation. Ace truly needed to start working a little on his tact.

"So, Ace what are your plans?" Vivi asked politely as they sat at the table. The two Monkey Ds had already started to dig in, with the rest of the crew following their lead somewhat more decently.

Casually, like it didn't really matter, he let the words slip out of his mouth, understanding a little too late that it wasn't the best way to answer that question. "Actually, we should be leaving tomorrow."

The sound of violent coughing shocked the man. His head snapped to the youngest of the room to find him choking on his food, blue eyes wide and watery. Nami worriedly reached for him and patted him roughly on the back. After a few more coughs and a gulp of water from his glass, he nodded gratefully at her with a "thank you," before turning his best glare yet at the cause of all this. "We're _what_?!"

"Well… we can't stay here forever," the raven-haired replied, a sheepish grin spreading on his face.

"When were you going to tell me?!"

He blinked at him, chewing at the inside of his mouth thoughtfully. "When you needed to pack your stuff…?"

"ACE!" The boy all but growled at him. His eyes gleamed with anger, yet there was also another emotion there. Something akin to… desperation, maybe? Ace narrowed his gaze at him, perplexed by the show of such a feeling. "A moment, _please_? We need to talk."

Edan stormed off, not waiting to see if the other would follow him. With no way around this, the logia excused himself from the table and went in search of his newly found pain in the arse. "What is it, Edan? What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?" He asked incredulously, once Ace reached him. "The matter is, Ace, that we're _leaving_."

"And you're mad I didn't tell you about it?"

"I'm…" A long sigh left his lips, followed by a couple of deep breaths to calm him down. When he looked back up, his eyes were full of pleading. "I'm mad because I don't want to leave."

"Edan…"

"You do know this is the only chance I'll ever get to see him again, don't you?" His fingers clenched tightly at the fabric of his shirt, shaking lightly. His gaze was casted down, but his voice never wavered. "I don't care that he doesn't know me. Isn't there a person in your life you wish you could see again… no matter what the circumstances?"

Ace's thoughts unwillingly turned to his brother, his _other_ brother and found himself sympathizing with the boy. _Damn_ _it._ "What do you want me to do? We have to find Teach!" He insisted, with obviously less force than before.

"I know that, I do! But… I… We're already here, Ace… Is one more day so bad?" Using a trick he must have learned from Luffy, Edan sent the puppy eyes with full force on him. "Ace, _please_." And while they weren't nearly as effective as his brother's, the freckled man started to cave in.

Shaking his head in disbelief at himself, Ace gave the kid a stern look. "_Fine_. One more day. Go do some bonding if you have to. We're leaving the day after tomorrow. Deal?"

What had come to be known as his _Luffy smile_ showed on his face, pure joy radiating from it. Despite the situation and his absolute refusal to believe his claims, he couldn't regret his decision. "Deal!"

* * *

True to his deal, Edan did go and do some bonding. He didn't seem to mind when Luffy dragged Ace with them either, as the young captain had truly missed his brother. Seeing the kid interact with them _both_ this way, a disturbing suspicion came to the surface. Edan was clinging to Luffy much like he had been clinging –or _trying _to anyway, being sabotaged as he was by their constant fights- to him back on the Moby Dick. _Am I dead in his time_?

Suddenly, Ace had a new understanding of Edan's never ending attempts to make him understand. Perhaps he needed to act a little nicer to him after all.

Nah, he must have gotten used to him by now anyway.

* * *

The following morning they made a final stop before going to the desert. Chopper needed a few extra medical supplies for the long journey and it was essential that they got them now. Their two guests also decided to get off the ship and explore the town. They split into groups, sending Nami with Luffy to keep him from getting lost, Zoro with the young doctor and the two other Ds together. The rest of the Straw Hats stayed on the ship for the time being.

Ace and Edan strolled around town in a comfortable silence, the youngest of the two beaming with joy, while the other found a smile on his face just by the contagious happiness in the air. Staying another day really hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

"Oh, you know…" Edan said at random after a while. "I finally found something I could give you as solid proof."

Amused, his uncle gave him a sideways glance. "Are you saying that you've just been stalling all this time because you had no idea how to prove it to me?"

A sheepish grin adorned his face, as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "… Maybe. I sort of… forgot I had it with me."

"Had what?"

"A –"

"_Monkey D. Edan._ Once again you've proven yourself quite a pain to find. And that fool, Gero, sent you miles off target!"

Ace turned towards the voice, an unfamiliar face greeting him. A Marine, based on his uniform, perhaps even a captain, was eyeing them with a thin grin twisting his expression, causing him to seem somewhat dangerous. He was around his mid thirties, with short, messy brown hair and a goatee which quite frankly looked slightly ridiculous on him. The pirate wracked his brain but couldn't remember ever seeing or even hearing of such a marine.

The same couldn't be said for Edan, who stood frozen next to Ace, his complexion pale, eyes twice their normal size. That reaction worried the raven-haired man and he gently nudged the boy to snap him out of it. "Oi, what's wrong?"

"Ace… I think… I think I figured out how I got here."

"How?"

"_He_ brought me here."

The fire user's head snapped at the Marine, his own black eyes narrowed and glaring. "_Why_?" He asked in a low tone, a hint of a threat evident in it.

The man's grin widened considerably, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

"Because it's _fun_."

* * *

A/N: _Dun. Dun._ ... Didn't I do that in another chapter as well? Oh, what can I do? I like that sound. Dun. Dun. Please, ignore me. But not before telling me what you thought of this! Thanks :D OH! By the way, is there anyone specific you'd like to see in a flashback?


	23. Chapter 23: Deadly Lineage

A/N: Hey, sorry this took so long to upload. I've been super busy with school and this was actually pretty tough to write. As you have noticed I suck at action scenes so I want to apologize in advance for the lame pacing of this chapter. Sorry. That said, I can't believe we finally reached this part of the story.

Warning: _little_ bit of swearing in there, sorry.

* * *

**Chapter 23: Deadly Lineage**

Dark green eyes bore on them with curiosity and a grin full of irritating smugness seemed to mock them. By his relaxed stance, you could tell he wasn't even in any rush to do his job, whatever that was. He simply stood there, waiting, enjoying the look of panic that slowly showed on the boy's face…

No, no, no. He couldn't be here. Not him, of all people. _He_ did this? This whole situation was _his_ doing? They needed to get out of here.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ace growled, shaking with fury. Despite the fact that he didn't have a solid idea of what was happening, there was no mistaking the tension in the air or the terror in the kid's expression.

"Gol D. Ace, right?" The Marine asked for confirmation, shocking the fire user, whose eyes widened like saucers. "You know, just because the Marines in your time are completely insufficient and can't even realize there _is_ a Pirate King's son, let alone catch him, doesn't mean that back in my world, we are _that_ useless."

Realization settled in and a wave of burning hot anger flared up inside of him. Literally burning. Flames sparked on his hands and shoulders as he got a better insight to the life of the fourteen-year-old next to him. "Edan… does he actually mean…?"

"He's been my personal stalker for about four years…" Edan admitted, his eyes glued to the man in front of him, hands shaking ever so slightly.

"Why you!" Ace yelled, prepared to fry the bastard who dared hurt a friend of his. Family even. Maybe.

He took a step forward, but a hand grabbed his arm like a lifeline. "Ace, no! Don't- don't fight him!"

"What's the problem? This guy is screwing up your life! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick his ass for it!"

The boy faltered, his gaze wandering around helplessly. "I-I… B-but…"

"I've seen you fight, you're strong, what is wrong with you?" He narrowed his eyes with suspicion. A moment of hesitation from the kid later and Ace understood what the big deal was. "You're terrified of him." It was barely a whisper, loud enough for Edan to hear, but quiet so that the other didn't.

"Maybe…" Edan admitted, his voice small, gaze on the ground full of shame.

The fire user clenched his fist, his anger increasing at the sight of the boy in such a condition. "All the more reason for me to get rid of him, kid."

"Ace…" the boy breathed, his mouth staying open in shock. The determination in Ace's voice clogged up his throat with emotion, something between happiness and guilt settling heavily on his heart. "You…"

"Nobody hurts a friend of mine."

The flames spread all over his arms, forcing the other to let go of him. Edan stared in shock as Ace walked forward, a smirk playing on his lips. Black eyes were set threateningly on the Marine, who was looking as nonchalant as ever, watching them as he was with a mildly amused expression. When Ace advanced on him, he stood up and, after brushing the dust off his white jacket, gave a little cough, a small laugh audible in it. "Did you two morons honestly believe I came here alone?"

Surely enough, dozens of people in similar white clothing emerged from the buildings around them, each one wearing a cocky grin that Ace indiscriminately wanted to punch off every single one of their faces. Marines in the kid's time were not joking around. At least not as much.

"Ace… Please leave," Edan muttered, his fearful attitude replaced with one of grim determination.

"What? Now you suddenly want to take them on. All of them?"

A bitter shake of the head gave him more of an answer that his words did, but they were painful to hear all the same. "When it comes to this, I usually have no other choice."

A momentary look of horror crossed the raven-haired man's face and turned to stare curiously at his companion. "Are you implying this has happened multiple times?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Edan…" All this while Ace had thought he had figured the boy out, but as it turned out, despite how remarkably similar they were, there were things he hadn't even imagined.

"Please go."

"Forget it. This time you're getting backup. And we're finishing this. They destroyed my brother's memory enough as it is."

"So you _do_ believe me?"

"For the sake of the conversation, let's say I do. I'll use my logic after we kick their asses."

With newfound confidence and adrenaline pumping in their veins, the two Ds prepared for a marine battle more meaningful than it seemed. Two boys, forbidden from the government to even be born, fighting to free at least one of them from the curse that came with their lineage…

* * *

Edan had fought the Marines many times in the last four years, battles ranging from little brawls, to ones needing to call for help in order to survive, but neither could quite match the one he was having. Ace fought with passion, painting the area around them red with fire, effectively both protecting and attacking. Damn, Edan needed to get himself a devil fruit.

Even if the Marine Captain's followers were slowly surrounding him, he had been in similar in situations enough times to be able to hold his ground no matter how many came pounding at him. It was the actual captain he had trouble fighting. However there was no sight of him. Worry clenched at his rapidly beating heart for the sake of his uncle. The fire and smoke made it hard to see or hear anything and Ace wasn't anywhere close enough for him to keep contact. Anything could have happened to him.

"Don't get distracted, brat!"

A random soldier yelled at him, swinging his sword with more brute force rather than any actual technique. Edan barely had time to dodge the attack, the tip of the sword drawing a thin line of blood on his cheek. Quietly, a tuft of black hair fell on the ground underneath. His fingers instinctively reached to wipe the warm trail away.

Images of sticky, crimson blood running down his arm flashed in his mind, the wicked face of the person who caused it playing over and over, feeding the anger boiling inside of him.

"_Ace-!_" A throaty scream tore his throat, his eyes darting around the fiery mess for any signs of the man. His teeth clenched in anger and a deadly glare settled on the people around him. Again and again and again bastards like these had come for him. For no reason. No reason whatsoever…

"No fucking reason…" He murmured, his fingers clenching in a fist quickly coated in black.

_"This time you're getting backup. And we're finishing this."_

"Let's finish this… _ACE!"_

* * *

The kid ran to the direction of the enraged yell that had tore through the sky seconds prior. That was undoubtedly Ace. And he sounded pissed. Soon he emerged in a small clearing amidst the flames were the man he had been searching for was facing off a couple of stray marines and their captain. A smile stretched on his face at the sight of more than a few burn marks on the captain's body.

Said man's eyes momentarily glanced at him and he scoffed, once again seeming mildly amused at their behavior. "Oh? You're still alive? Good, I wanted to have the honor."

Ace turned to him instantly, a grin matching his spreading with a wink. "Do you want him, Edan? Or should I take care of him?"

"Your confidence is amusing, pirate," the marine smirked, drawing a weapon from inside his jacket.

The fire user narrowed his gaze at the object, before chuckling mockingly. "A gun, really? You think that will work?" He failed to notice the horror washing over the boy's face as realization settled in.

"Fool. Don't compare your marines to us." He raised the silver plated gun, pointing the canister straight to the logia's heart.

"Ace!" Edan yelled, running towards the family he had so desperately been trying to save. Unaware of the danger, Ace merely looked curiously at the weapon, like he was expecting something different than a bullet to be fired from it. "_ACE_!"

"It's a gun…" He muttered, not understanding.

"Idiot," the brown-haired man smirked, his finger roughly pulling on the trigger.

Ace wouldn't move from his spot and Edan had no time to think. Screaming his friend and uncle's name, he ran, with all his strength, his heart and soul, praying the bullet wouldn't touch the man, even if he had no idea how.

Well, there was one way…

"_EDAN!"_

A sudden pain erupted on his chest, something warm and wet soaking through his shirt. He chuckled weakly, painfully at the idea of him ruining yet another one. His legs wobbled underneath him until they just couldn't hold him anymore. With a shocked smile still on his face, he felt himself fall but never noticed the landing. There was no sight but darkness anymore, his senses slowly abandoning him, yet Ace's panicked voice reached him through the haze, stunned and worried and angry all at once…

"_You idiot! What were you thinking? That was…"_

"… A seastone bullet…" he managed to mutter weakly, not quite certain the other could hear him. "You're… such… an ass… Check… my stupid… pocket…"

The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness completely was wondering with surprising clarity if this beautiful, fulfilling emotion was what Ace had felt when he had sacrificed himself to save his little brother…

* * *

_"Hey, hey, Edan, listen to me. I know you want to go see your dad, I know you do. But there's a different version of both him and me here and we both want you to stay alive for a while longer… Can you do that for us? Edan…? Don't give up, damn it…"_

* * *

A/N: Yikes. You know THIS is actually where Edan originally revealed his lineage. Still turned out pretty good, I think. Well, what do you think? Also thanks for the suggestions about the flashbacks, we're going to get some of them soon.


	24. Chapter 24: Family Ties

**A/N:** Bleh, I'm in too much of a hurry to edit this, will do so in the morning. In the meantime please ignore the mistakes (and the horrible, horrible writing. I just couldn't do it this time.) The next one should be pretty good, though. I hope.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Family Ties**

The sound of flip flops against wood echoed on the deck, for once calm and collected instead of loud and fast and all over the place. Surely enough. A straw hat-wearing captain entered his line of sight and sat down next to him, huddled as he was against the railing.

"Has your doctor- Has Chopper come out yet?"

"Not yet. Sorry…" Silence settled between them for a few moments before the younger finally had to ask. "Ace, who is this kid? Is he your nakama?"

"In a way. To be honest Lu, I'm not sure what he is. But he most definitely should _not_ die like this." _Not by that soulless bastard. And for heaven's sake, not in my stead._

"He's a good kid…" Luffy admitted, dragging the words thoughtfully.

A soft smile graced his lips at the thought of the boy hearing such a comment from that particular person. "Maybe you should tell him that." It was seconds later that he caught himself with that smile and frowned, mentally berating himself for how much he had grown on him.

Luffy remained oblivious though and nodded at his brother's suggestion. "I could do that."

The door opened with a creak and Chopper emerged from their makeshift infirmary, looking worn out and a little panicky. The D brothers took it as a bad sign and rushed over to him, anxious for news on the youngest passenger's condition. The rest of the crew gathered around as well. Regardless of how long they had known this boy, he was a sort of friend of theirs and currently their own doctor's responsibility. Not to mention this was a 14-year-old _child_ they were talking about and even if they had never met him, the worry would still be there.

"Chopper, what happened? How is he?" Nami asked, seeing as no one else did.

"Well…" the little reindeer began, nervously playing with his hooves. "There was something different about that bullet, that much was clear…"

"It was seastone…" Ace offered, fist clenching with a combination of anger and shame. If that thing had hit him, the fire user would have certainly been dead.

"What's seastone?" Almost the every one of them wondered simultaneously.

"It's something-" he began to explain before remembering the situation. "Wait- that's not the point. What happened with Edan?"

"Right! We have a problem!"

Ace once again regretted not burning the Marine alive on the spot.

* * *

Their problem was how much blood Edan had lost on the way to the ship, despite how frantically Ace had been running to make it in time. He needed help. Now. Or he wasn't going to make it. The raven-haired man felt like dying at the knowledge, guilt gripping at his heart tightly, painfully. Much to his surprise, all crewmembers volunteered to give blood if they had the correct the blood type.

Chopper had already checked. "It's F."

Luffy jumped at that. "Hey, that's my blood type!"

And even if the situation was too serious for something like this, Ace couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. "Of course it is…"

* * *

An hour later Chopper reemerged, twice as tired yet with a small smile on his face that lifted the heavy weight on Ace's chest almost instantly. When asked what had happened, the little reindeer stretched it out with satisfaction. "He's stable now. As long as his wound doesn't reopen, he should be fine."

A long, relieved sigh left the man as he slightly bowed to the doctor for his help. "Thank you so much, Chopper. Can I go see him?"

"Sure. He's resting now, though. I left Luffy in there with him, since he needs to lie down for a while as well."

After a nod and a second thank you, he walked in and spotted the two sleeping figures on the makeshift beds. Luffy's light snoring caused him to chuckle before a frown settled on his face. Lying there like that, fast asleep, mops of messy black hair covering their young faces, the similarity between the two was even more obvious. If Luffy indeed wasn't related to him, then something really weird was going on.

However Edan's sleep was less than peaceful, brows furrowing every now and then. He should make a note to ask Chopper for more painkillers. The already destroyed shirt had been cut off and now the kid was only covered by a thin blanket, the bandages on his chest visible underneath. The freckled man ran a hand through his hair at the sight. He had gotten a fourteen year old shot. Because he wouldn't move his sorry ass out of the way.

_"That was…"_

_"… a sea stone bullet…"_

Thank God Edan didn't have a devil fruit. Since when did those idiot Marines make their bullets out of sea stone anyway?

"Sorry, kid…" he sighed, trying to take comfort in the fact that according to the doctor everything would turn out alright.

_"Check my… stupid… pocket._"

Oh yeah. What had that been about? With all the panic around them, he had completely neglected it. _If that idiot has a hidden miraculous medicine in his pocket, I'm going to kill him myself._ It was more than a little awkward, trying to move his fingers in the small pocket of the boy's denim trousers, but eventually he felt them brush against something and reached for it.

A blank look came across his face as he stared at the money in his hands. Surely that couldn't have been what he was talking about. Just before he went to look at the other pocket, a different kind of paper caught his eye. Curious, Ace separated it from the rest and took a good look at it.

_"Oh_."

* * *

Luffy stirred in his sleep with a satisfied exhale. Soon his eyes blinked opened tiredly to find his older brother sitting next to him, a disbelieving expression on his face. "Ace…? What's wrong?"

Said brother jumped up at the sudden voice, before smiling a little at him. "Oh, you're awake, Lu? You ok?"

"I'm _hungry…_" the young captain whined, rubbing his stomach absentmindedly. Ace panicked once he show that idiot take a deep breath to yell.

"San-" A rough hand clapped over his mouth before he had a chance to raise his voice too much. Luffy tried to say something among the lines of _what's going on _and _Ace_ but was intelligible.

"You _moron_! You're not alone in the room!"

"Whoops! My bad…" he whispered with a laugh once his mouth was free again. "Say, Ace, what were you looking at before?"

The man shrugged, even though it was clear the subject was bothering him "Nothing. Just a photo."

"A photo?"

"You know, I'm going to see if Sanji is done with dinner. You're hungry, right? Plus I need to tell your doctor something. Be right back, ok?" With that, he walked out, leaving a very confused Luffy behind him, wondering just what the heck was going on with his older brother.

* * *

_"Dad? Daddy…? Is something wrong?"_

_"No… What's the matter, Edan?"_

_"You've been acting weird lately… Please don't."_

* * *

_"I'm sorry, Mom."_

_"For what?"_

_"We're always running because of me. I've made this so hard for you…"_

* * *

_"Damn it, Edan! You're not Ace! Stop acting like him! Promise me you'll never hate yourself because of them! It's not worth it! This cruel, unfair world is not worth it!"_

* * *

_"Edan! Are you ok?"_

_"It… It hurts…"_

_"What happened?"_

_"Please… please make it stop…"_

* * *

_"Teach me how to fight! I need to get stronger!"_

_"You're too-"_

_ "Weak! I'm too weak! People can't keep getting hurt because of me! I need to get stronger! Stronger!"_

* * *

Edan woke up to the sound of growling. With his sight still weak, blurry figures were the only thing that greeted him along with a mildly curious voice.

"…an? Are you awake?"

In the daze he was in, the logical part of his brain failed to make the connection and the name slipped from his tongue before he could stop it. "…Dad?" Only after a very shocked sounding _huh?!_ did the boy realize his mistake. "Oh. Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, Luffy! I'm still a little out of it."

"I'm too young to be a father…" he grumbled with a frown.

"I said I'm sorry! What are you doing lying here like this, anyway?"

The kid tried really hard not to notice how much this reminded him of a sleepover, with the way Luffy was lying on a makeshift bed next to him, propped up on one elbow, head resting on his palm. Just how much had he missed?

"Chopper said I needed to lie down after giving blood."

"You gave bl- _OW!_" Perhaps abruptly sitting up was a bad idea.

"Are you stupid? Sit back down!"

"I'm fine!"

"Down!"

"I said I'm fine!"

"_I am your father, you will listen to me_!"

The effect was instantaneous. The boy froze, eyes wide in shock, mouth slightly gaping. The pain on his chest was forgotten as he desperately tried to understand what the man had meant by that. Had Ace…?

When Luffy started laughing his head off, clutching his stomach tightly, Edan realized how much of an idiot he was being. Seventeen year old Luffy could only joke about that and Edan was actually dumb enough to fall for it. Perhaps he truly was still out of it.

"What are you two idiots doing here?"

The aforementioned two idiots turned towards the voice. Ace was standing in the doorway, looking even more stunned than the boy was. Having probably missed the cause of Luffy's earlier exclamation, who knew what kind of explanation for this he had conjured in his mind…

"Did you bring food?" Luffy asked, a gaze full of hope settled on his brother.

"Sorry, Lu. You're going to have to go fetch it yourself. Chopper said that you should be well enough by now. And as for you…" After promptly ignoring the captain's pout, he turned to the injured boy. "… don't overdo it. I'll go get him now that you're awake. Maybe he'll give you some of the good stuff."

Another loud growl filled the room. "I'm _hungry…_" The two remaining Ds ushered him off to bother Sanji and get the little doctor while at it and soon they ended up alone in the room.

"Ace…"  
"I saw the photo," Ace sighed and took a seat next to him. "And just what the hell is wrong with you? Is telling people to look at photos your normal response to almost dying?"

Much to his annoyance, the kid simply shrugged and actually flinched as it pulled on his wound. "I promised you some proof. It would suck if I died and you still thought I was a liar."

"Have little more regard for your life, will you?"

"Do _you_ have much regard for your life?"

"That's different! I'm…"

"You're what?" Edan retorted, brows raised in question. "Do tell, in what way are you different?"

Ace narrowed his eyes at him, studying him from head to toe suspiciously. "You know what? Screw the photo. I can't believe you're Luffy's son. You're too damn manipulative."

"Hey, my mom's pretty awesome."

"Yeah, she had to be. Putting up with Luffy like that. Speaking of, why isn't she in this?" He gently passed the hard paper over to the boy; he had no right to keep this, as entertaining as it was to see a grown up version of his kid brother. "It pissed me off. Or is she one of his crewmates?"

Edan took a good look at it once again and his lips turned upwards into a small smile. "No, I… I think she was the one taking the photo."

"You know... for the record, from what I've seen the Monkey D family has introduced some crazy ass people into this world… And you're definitely one of them."

The boy looked at him with curiosity, unsure of where he was going with this.

"I like that."

* * *

_"Hey, let's take a photo!"_

_"Yosh!" Luffy exclaimed and picked up his now two-year-old son in his arms, grinning at the adorable chuckling that followed the action. "Gather around!"_

_ The Strawhat crew gathered around the two, their children promptly taking a spot either close to them or their raven-haired friend. Sanji was making sure no one touched the birthday cake in front of them and that included both father and son, even if it was their cake to begin with. Really, couldn't they wait just a bit?_

_ Luffy carefully held little Edan in front of the candles, his rubber arms wrapped around him multiple times for extra measure, seeing as the child was always moving around and squirming. "Smile at mommy, Edan," he whispered next to his ear, before stretching a smile on his face, almost identical to the one his son put on seconds later._

_ The woman behind the camera gave them a thumbs up. "3… 2… 1…"_

_"Happy birthday, Edan!"_

* * *

A/N: Cute. I guess. So,_** important question**_ for the story:

As you can see in the summary the story was originally about Edan talking Ace out of his existential issues. With that in mind, I could finish this story in one chapter and add the epilogue there. Or I could keep it going for quite a while to where the story ended up in my head, which is significantly longer and might take some time. So this one is on you: Do you want to finally finish this quickly or keep it going? Not many things would actually change from the epilogue even if I stop it here. What do you think? Please vote! Thanks.


	25. Chapter 25: You Call This Bonding?

A/N: Aaah, I promise there's like another one or two at most short scene chapters coming before (by your choice) we continue with the plot line. Sorry.

This is the first time I've experienced something as annoying as "I want to write but I just did a blood test and can't lift my hand". That was weird.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, because after this chapter I'm sure more will ask. Edan's _mom_ will NOT be mentioned by name. We _won't_ meet her at all, save for some random mentions like the one at this chapter. Thank you for your understanding.

Also, one last thing: last chapter had a record of reviews! And we reached 300!_ Thank you guys so much! _Your support is amazing! I'm honored!

* * *

**Chapter 25: You Call This Bonding?**

Dinner with the Straw Hats was as loud and chaotic as it always was, despite one of their members missing. Following Chopper's examination, the injured boy had fallen back to sleep, so Sanji made sure to keep aside a plate for when he woke up again; a plate currently eyed suspiciously by the captain and guarded closely by both the cook and Ace. The young doctor had assured them that their guest would make a full recovery, provided he took it easy for a while, so none of them were so concerned. At least, not enough as to lose their appetite. Since they didn't, then Ace should have figured out that the kid wouldn't lose his either…

Just when Sanji was going to gather their plates, a stumbling, sleepy figure appeared on the doorway, sluggishly rubbing the fatigue off his eyes. Chopper's high pitched shriek had the entire room on sudden alert before they realized what had happened.

"Edan! What are you doing?!" The little reindeer yelled, rushing over to the kid and immediately leading him to a chair. "You shouldn't be standing, let alone walking around! What were you thinking?!"

Edan tilted his head, staring at Chopper in confusion. The pain medication had clearly affected him, if his dazed look and clumsy movements were any clue. He clenched the sheet draped over his shoulders tightly, before replying bluntly. "I smelt food."

Luffy laughed loudly at the calm statement, while Nami groaned. "Are you absolutely certain you three aren't related?"

"Idiot!" Ace scolded him, giving him a strong bump to the head. Unfortunately the impact shook his entire body, causing the kid to gasp shakily and the doctor of the ship to end up scolding him. "Umm… sorry… But still, you could have called for someone. We would have brought the food to you!"

"I… didn't think of that," he shrugged and instantly flinched from the pull on his stitches. "Ouch."

"_Are you both complete idiots?!_"

* * *

"Remind me never to let anyone give you painkillers again, Edan."

Ace sighed as he finally got the kid to lie back down on his makeshift bed. The boy was a squirming, giggling mess, high on pain medication and, now that he had eaten, full of energy ready to be spent aimlessly by annoying his uncle.

"Usopp once said I'm like a slightly drunk version of Luffy when I get painkillers and apparently that's usually not a good combination," he laughed, moving his limbs around absentmindedly.

"If that's a _slightly _drunk version of Luffy, I don't even want to imagine what a fully drunk version of my brother looks like. Now, stay still, you're going to rip your stitches. Go to sleep, kid."

"Don' wanna…" he whined, squirming around a little more.

"Oh, you've got to be joking…"

"_Ace_… Tell me a story!"

"What are you? 5?"

"Come on, you're my dad's brother. You must have an awesome story with him. Tell me. _Tell _me! And I'll tell you about the time Haruta got the entirety of the crew plus me to play a prank on Marco. He was even mad at me by the end of it and I was ten at the time."

"Wait- so the crew is still going in your time?" Ace grinned at the idea, still trying to hold the boy down.

Edan frowned, gaze permanently settled upwards. By this point he was practically mumbling to himself and regrettably not paying attention to what he was going on about. "Well, sort of but not quite. I mean, a lot of the members are the same, but many have left. They don't even have the same captain, but I believe Marco is doing a great job… The few times I've met them, we've had some serious fun… Ace? You ok?"

"Edan, why is Marco running the crew…?"

The boy paled at the question, eyes widening with realization. _I really should stop taking painkillers…_ "You know, what? I'm going to follow my doctor's advice and go to sleep now."

"So, Pops is dead, huh? Damn…" The sadness in Ace's voice struck a chord in the kid and he regretted ever opening his mouth. "I'm dead, too, aren't I?"

Edan jumped at the sudden statement and moaned when his wound ached in protest. A few curses involuntarily left his mouth, before turning to Ace again. "First of all, never do that again," he gritted his teeth against the pain, his hand carefully clutching his chest. "And second, no. Not if I have something to say about it…"

"What do you… ?"

"And _third…_" he interrupted, raising his voice and turning away from the man. "I really am going to sleep those painkillers off now, before I say more stupid stuff."

"Oh, so now I know when you're most vulnerable. That might end up handy in the future…." Ace smirked playfully at him.

"I hate you…"

"I know you do."

* * *

The following morning, after a wonderful breakfast, courtesy of Sanji, the three Ds found themselves playing cards with Usopp and Chopper and kicking ass. Apparently despite Luffy's lack of a poker face, his unbelievable luck made him a formidable foe. Ace on the other hand, had spent enough time in his childhood absolutely perfecting his own poker face and handling money to know exactly how to cheat the others and Edan had gotten enough luck from his dad and manipulation talents from his mom to be able to keep up with the two. Usopp and Chopper had no idea what hit them.

By the end, Usopp was practically depressed. "Show some mercy! I'll have to take a loan from Nami if I lose any more money."

"Wait- we're playing for money?!" Edan looked up, eyes wide and almost sparkling with excitement. "_Cool!_"

"Have you never played with money before, Edan?"

"Not really. The few times I've played, I was too young and my mom wouldn't let me. I think it was mostly because at some point she joined the game herself and ripped everyone off."

Ace narrowed his eyes at the kid, wondering for the hundredth time just what kind of woman would ever marry his brother. Though it did explain a lot about some aspects of Edan's personality as well as his ability to actually lie convincingly enough for him to believe it.

"I don't even want to imagine what your family's like, Edan," Usopp grumbled,

Ace shook his head, whilst robotically shuffling the deck. _You have no idea._

* * *

"Aw, _come on_, Ace. If I spent any more time lying down I'm going to kill myself."

The fire user resisted the urge to give the kid another slap on the head, fearing Chopper's rage. "What do you want me to do? It's not like we can have you running around like that. And I doubt Usopp will play another game of cards with any of us." A groan echoed around the room. "Sorry, kid." At the lack of response, he relented a little. "How about I tell you about the time your dad and I tried to still some snake eggs and almost got eaten?"

The kid jumped up and soon cursed his spontaneity when the pain erupted. "_Shit_."

"Chopper was right, you _are_ an idiot," Ace chuckled at his state.

"You're the one to talk," he glared through narrowed eyes. "Just tell the story."

"Alright… Well, you see…"

* * *

By the end of it, Edan was somewhere between guffawing loudly at the silliness and smiling kindly at the sweetness of it. While Ace really tried to make it seem like his baby brother had annoyed him, it was crystal clear to the boy that he had been honestly touched by the gesture at the time.

"Did- did you get…" he asked between laughter. "… in situations like that often?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Now, do you need anything else? Maybe some painkillers…?"

"It wouldn't…" he began, before his eyes widened with understanding. "_HEY!"_

The smirk his uncle gave him caused the most heated of glares to appear, even if no real anger was behind it. If anything, the boy found it quite relaxing, to be able to joke around with him like this. Finally, there were no more secrets between them…

Except for the fact that he died… But even that, Ace had already somehow figured out. Now, all he needed to do was be careful from now on and maybe he could get to experience the relationship in his own time. And just how amazing would that be…?

"Hey, you ok? What's going on in that brain of yours?" The pirate snapped his fingers in front of the kid to bring him back to reality. Once assured that everything was fine, Ace asked something that had been bothering him for quite a while now. "You know what's been bugging me? Why _Edan_? Why would Luffy name his son _Edan_?"

Heat rose to his cheeks, tinting them with a bright red color at the question. "A… about that…"

"What?" Ace leaned in front, honestly curious now for the answer.

"_Edanmeansfire-I'mnamedafteryou."_

"One more time?" he asked again, frowning.

"Edan means fire, _okay_? I'm… named after you…"

A stunned silence spread in the room, the freckled man staring in shock at the young boy in front of him. The son of his sweet little brother who had actually taken the time to name his firstborn after him. "You…"

_"YOSH!_"

The door burst open, revealing a certain jolly rubber man with wide grin on his face. The two others shifted their gazes to him, both of them silent for different reasons. Somehow he caught up to the atmosphere in the room and looked at his brother with confusion. "Ace…? What's wrong?"

_"Luffy, you idiot.._._"_

* * *

A/N: Hopefully, we'll be done with those scenes soon. Thank you for your patience. Please tell me what you thought! :)

_*For anyone who wants to read the story Ace told Edan go to my story We're Not Broken, Just Bent- Chapter 9: Nii-chan*_


	26. Bonus: Growing Up With The Straw Hats

A/N: Unfortunately, this isn't exactly a chapter. Please don't kill me. For those of you who are reading my other stories know already what I'm going to say, but for those who aren't I had to make an important announcement and because I didn't want to post an announcement-chapter (because I personally think they're horrible), I added two little bonus flashback scenes for you. Sorry it doesn't measure up to an actual chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoy and **check out the bottom author's** **note.**

**UPDATE:** Ok, ok, I know I went a little rogue with the "Pirate Queen" in this chapter. She really is not supposed to be an actual character in this story... Sorry about that, hope you won't mind. However, despite her participation in this chapter, she will remain **anonymous**. Thank you.

* * *

**BONUS CHAPTER: Growing Up With The Straw Hats**

_Every once in a while the Straw Hats would gather together in one place or another to catch up. Most of the time they would bring their kids as well, seeing as they had grown close over the years. One time they didn't though and the captain's only son was a little disappointed. And they all noticed._

_"Come on, Edan," Chopper called to him. "You're not going to be grumpy the whole time, are you?"_

_"I'm not grumpy. I'm bored…" The 13-year-old shrugged, fiddling with a loose thread on his shirt._

_"I'm sorry… I promise next time we'll bring everyone," Nami smiled at him. "Only if you stop complaining, though."_

_ His mother turned to look at him and keeping the calmest tone she could master, questioned him: "Would you rather spend some time with your great-grandfather, then?"_

_ The crew fought back a laugh at the shock that quickly spread over the boy's features. He looked down, not uttering a single complaint._

_"Have you met Garp yet?" Usopp asked curiously._

_"Oh yes," the kid nodded solemnly. "We even had a dare to see if I could last a week with him. I lost."_

_ A round of laughter spread through the room, before his mom finished the explanation. "So now, 'stop complaining or I'll send you to Garp' is a common threat in this family."_

_"You can't be that evil," Nami chuckled._

_ Edan looked at her, his expression still darkened. "The _horror_."_

_ At that moment, Sanji asked Edan to come to the kitchen for a little and he was all too eager to comply. However Nami noticed the other woman still smiling after a while and couldn't help but ask her why._

_"Well, you see, as much as Edan complains about Garp, he still asks me to go and visit him sometimes, because now he's his only family."_

* * *

_ Sanji would never forget the day Edan decided he wanted to learn how to cook something. It was random and unexpected and said so seriously, the cook thought it was a joke at first. "Come again?"_

_"Teach me how to cook!" The seven-year-old repeated with more determination than before._

_"May I ask why?"_

_ The young boy tilted his head, his face adopting an expression of thoughtfulness. "I eat. A lot. At some point I think my mom's gonna get tired of feeding me."_

_ Trying very hard to stifle his laughter, Sanji tried to think if there was anything easy he could show the kid without destroying his kitchen. If he judged based on Luffy's skills in the kitchen, the boy would be good at solely eating. But the "queen" could actually cook, so who knew what Edan could and couldn't do? Oh, he might as well. "What would you want to cook, anyway?"_

_ The child was still young, though, so his answer shouldn't have been that surprising._

_"How 'bout…" He bit his lip, frowning in thought. Until finally his face lit up, a wide grin spreading. "Cookies! Let's make cookies!"_

_"That's the food you'd like to eat when your mother stops putting up with your eating habits?"_

_"Yes! Cookies are always good. Cookies and meat. But cookies last longer so I won't have to cook _all_ the time."_

_ The kid's ability to combine brains and goofiness amused the man to no end and eventually he agreed to his request and headed to prepare the ingredients for their little cooking session. He truly had no idea what he was getting into._

_ Hours later, they both emerged from the kitchen looking… looking like they were the cookies themselves. Especially the younger was covered head to toe with flour and cookie dough, yet grinning like a loon. Still, by some miracle, they actually did have a tray full of chocolate-chip cookies with them._

_ His mother took one look at them and rushed over, an apologetic look on her face. "Oh, jeez. Sanji, I'm sorry. I know how much you hate wasting ingredients."_

_"Don't worry about it," he said and gently nudged the kid forward._

_ Edan, who was currently holding the tray, clumsily extended his arms, offering the woman the freshly-baked snack. "For you, my lady."_

_"Don't worry, I was supervising him the whole time," Sanji added. "And tried them first. You have nothing to fear."_

_"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" The kid whined, turning to the man with a pout._

_ She chuckled and promptly took the offered cookie. "I'll be the judge of that." She faked thinking about it for a second, brows furrowed in concentration, before smiling down at her son. "It's delicious! Did you really make this, Edan? Maybe I should let _you_ cook from now on."_

_"Oh no," the kid gasped in shock. "It's starting."_

_ Sanji figured the comically panicked look on that young face was worth any extra ingredients he could have saved. That or the fact that he accidently licked some cookie dough left on his cheek and found it too tasty to waste. So he proceeded to start eating off his face, much to both adults' amusement._

* * *

_**Important author's note:**_Ok, so next Friday is November 1st and with November comes NaNoWriMo (look it up). So this means I'm going to spend an enormous amount of time writing. But writing my original stories. Therefore, my fanfiction will be taking a hiatus. A month-long one at that (unless at some point I'm ahead in my wordcount and have enough strength leftover to write some more, which I doubt). I'm very sorry for this. Thank you so much for your understanding. See you in December then!

_This note will also be posted on my profile soon. With perhaps some extra details._


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